“The Great Gatsby” is a novel that millions of people have read and has been adapted so many times on TV and in film. You would think there are only so many ways that Hollywood would be able to redo this classic story. Well, it appears that Michael Hirst has a new take and is set to reimagine “The Great Gatsby” with a more modern POV.
According to THR, Michael Hirst is set to write and produce a new limited series based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel, “The Great Gatsby.” The novel tells the story of New York in the 1920s and the people who inhabit the social circles, including the mysterious Gatsby. Hirst, who previously worked on projects such as “Elizabeth,” “The Tudors,” and “Vikings,” has a new twist for the upcoming series that will keep the classic setting but focus on the ways the story can resonate in today’s world.
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“I seem to have lived with ‘Gatsby’ most of my life, reading it first as a schoolboy, later teaching it at Oxford in the 1970s then re-reading it periodically ever since,” Hirst said. “As the critic Lionel Trilling once wrote: ‘”The Great Gatsby” is still as fresh as when it first appeared, it has even gained in weight and relevance.’ Today, as America seeks to reinvent itself once again, is the perfect moment to look with new eyes at this timeless story, to explore its famous and iconic characters through the modern lens of gender, race, and sexual orientation. Fitzgerald’s profoundly romantic vision does not prevent him examining and exposing the darker underbelly of the American experience, which is why the story speaks to both tragedy and hope, and why it continues to resonate today.”
Blake Hazard, a great-granddaughter of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, added, “I have long dreamt of a more diverse, inclusive version of ‘Gatsby’ that better reflects the America we live in, one that might allow us all to see ourselves in Scott’s wildly romantic text. Michael brings a deep reverence for Scott’s work to the project, but also a fearlessness about bringing such an iconic story to life in an accessible and fresh way. I’m delighted to be a part of the project.”
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As teased in those comments, the series is expected to tackle topics that might not have been covered in previous versions of the story, including New York’s Black community in the 1920s (and the musical subculture), as well as more issues dealing with the hidden lives of the main characters.
As of now, there is no director attached to the project and it’s unclear where it might end up, either on TV or a streaming service. But this would mark the first big adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” since the 2013 film that starred Leonardo DiCaprio in the lead role.