Greg Berlanti to Remake Little Shop of Horrors Film

Berlanti Should Continue His Streak of Casting Glee Alumni, and Cast Darren Criss and Lea Michele as Seymour and Audrey

Deadline reports that Warner Bros is developing a film remake of the classic musical Little Shop of Horrors with Greg Berlanti, producer of superhero shows on The CW, directing, Marc Platt (La La Land) producing, and a script by Matthew Robinson (The Invention of Lying).

Little Shop of Horrors was originally a 1960 B movie cult film directed by Roger Corman. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman turned it into an Off-Off-Broadway rock musical in 1982. It eventually made its way to Off-Broadway, where it ran for 5 years, then to movie theaters in 1986. Rick Moranis and Ellen Greene starred in the 1986 film as Seymour and Audrey.

After the cut, my take on the news, and video of Darren Criss and Lea Michele singing Suddenly Seymour from Little Shop of Horrors.

The film tells the story of Seymour and Audrey, a hapless florist’s assistant and the girl he loves, who live on Skid Row. Looking to improve his lot in life, and win Audrey’s affections, Seymour raises an exotic plant he names Audrey II. It turns out Audrey II requires a very specific, very carnivorous diet. As Audrey II grows larger and larger, the plant requires more and more food. This sets up a dilemma for Seymour. How will he provide for Audrey II without compromising himself?

I’m tentatively excited about this remake! This show is very close to my heart. The first time that I saw it live was in the mid 80s, before the movie was made. The most recent time that I saw it was October of this year.  The original movie was very good, if you put aside the stunt casting with people who couldn’t sing, and the changed ending. Who doesn’t love Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, and Steve Martin? But having Greg Berlanti at the helm worries me, I have to admit. Doing camp is harder than you would think, as we just saw with FOX’s Rocky Horror Picture Show remake. Even with a very talented cast, it can be screwed up if people are miscast and the production tries too hard. I haven’t seen any signs so far that Greg Berlanti can do camp. The DC Berlantiverse is doing a musical crossover later this season between The Flash and Supergirl. That will give us some clues about how well he can handle a musical with an ensemble cast.

In the meantime, I know of a pair who would make an excellent Seymour and Audrey. We know Berlanti has a thing for Glee alumni, since he has cast two as the leads in his shows (Melissa Benoist and Grant Gustin). Here’s Darren Criss and Lea Michele auditioning for the parts singing Suddenly Seymour on Glee: