Darren Aronofsky Has Plans For A Black Swan Musical

Fresh off the wave of directing A24’s Brendan Fraser-starring The Whale, Darren Aronofsky has revealed an unexpected future project. In a new interview with AV Club, Aronofsky says he’s working on a Black Swan musical.

"We're trying to do the Black Swan musical," the Mother! director said. When asked whether the show would go to Broadway, he said, "We'll see what happens. But we're working on it."

Aronofsky directed Natalie Portman in the acclaimed 2010 film, in which Portman plays a dedicated ballerina whose dark side begins to merge as she competes against newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis) for this prima ballerina lead in Swan Lake. The highly popular psychological thriller went on to receive five Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Portman.

Typically known for darker fare like 2000’s Requiem for a Dream and 2008’s The Wrestler, it’s hard to imagine an Aronofsky musical without similarly ominous vibes. The director also addressed whether he’d make a movie musical specifically, saying, “I would love to and I’ve talked to many people about it. And I’ve come close to a few ideas. It’s a very tricky thing because music from musicals is not popular music anymore. So what do you do?”

Still, he said he’s open to the idea, adding, “I think Hamilton was brilliant because Lin-Manuel Miranda fused hip-hop with musical music. And so he had this breakthrough that was really brilliant. But figuring that angle of it, of what the music would be, where it comes from, is the big challenge. But I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it. And hopefully one day I could figure something out.”