The Rock and Stephen Merchant are reuniting once more to adapt the biopic on WWE star Paige, Fighting With My Family, into a stage musical.
The news was first broken by The Hollywood Reporter that the film is being turned into a stage show by Tilted Musicals, who will work in collaboration with Seven Bucks Productions, Merchant, Kevin Misher and Birmingham Hippodrome. The lyrics will be written by Jon Brittain, along with a new soundtrack composed by singer-songwriter Miranda Cooper and Nick Coler.
In the report, Merchant says that he always imagined the project as a musical:
“A young woman from the ‘chorus line’ fighting to get her big break, surrounded by theatrical, larger-than-life characters and huge sweeping emotions,” he said. “I approached each wrestling match like it was a different dance number, building to a big show-stopping finale. Seeing the film reimagined for the stage feels like the natural next step.”
The Rock And Stephen Merchant To Take Paige Biopic To Big Screen
The 2019 film chronicles Saraya Bevis and the Knight family from Norwich, England. The biopic sees Saraya, played by Florence Pugh, and her brother Zak earn WWE try-outs, but only Saraya is accepted by the pro wrestling company. With Saraya becoming WWE star Paige, Zak struggles with the realisation that he has been left behind. The film concludes with Paige’s historic moment on the Raw after WrestleMania 30, where she defeats AJ Lee to win the Divas Championship.
The Rock has a brief cameo in the film, where he plays a fictionalised version of himself cutting promos on Saraya and Zak before they undergo their try-outs. WWE stars The Big Show, The Miz and Sheamus all make cameo appearances.
Fighting with My Family grossed $41.5 million worldwide and was well-received by critics.
Featured image: WWE
