After having been a holiday staple since 1843, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” is returning to the big screen in the hands of director Bennett Miller and screenwriter Tom Stoppard.
The classic tale about bitter old miser Ebenezer Scrooge and his visits from the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come is being developed for Megan Ellison‘s Annapurna Pictures. Ellison, Miller, Scott Rudin and Jennifer Fox will produce.
Unlike Bill Murray‘s 1988 comedy “Scrooged,” the latest adaption will be a period piece set in the Dickensian era of the mid 19th century.
“A Christmas Carol” has been adapted into countless stage, film, theater, radio and opera productions over the past 173 years, including those starring Jim Carrey, Laurence Olivier, Alec Guinness, the Muppets, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
Miller previously worked with Annapurna on 2014’s “Foxcatcher,” for which he received his second Best Director Oscar nomination and Steve Carell and Mark Ruffalo both got acting nods.
Stoppard won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar for 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love,” which also earned Gwyneth Paltrow an Academy Award for Best Actress.