Sinbad Returns to the Screen
A new Sinbad movie is in development at Sony with Adam Shankman (Hairspray) set to direct, according to Variety.
Neal Moritz will produce the fantasy adventure telling of “Sinbad and his crew, who are marooned off the coast of China and embark on a quest to find the lamp of Aladdin.”
Sinbad is a legendary figure from Middle Eastern tales. His name is Persian while his tales were initially written in Arabic. The stories featuring the wanderer have been told, retold, and adapted for centuries. He was a sailor from Basrah and his exploits were drawn from true tales from sailors working the Asian and African trade routes plus more than a dash of epic journeys from other sources such as Homer’s The Odyssey.
Sinbad was immortalized as the 133rd tale in Sir Richard Burton’s translation of The Book of One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights) which is the source most adaptations use. He has been used in popular movies, television series, cartoons and comic books throughout the 20th century, perhaps best know for the films made in the 19509s and 1960s by Ray Harryhausen. He first appeared on film in a 1935 cartoon before The Fleischer Brothers produced their Popeye the Sailor Meets Sindbad the Sailor in 1936, with Sindbad resembling Bluto.
His last feature film was Sinbad: Legends of the Seven Seas in 2003. Since then, he has been seen in Bill Willingham’s Fables.
He is also set to direct Bob the Musical for Disney. The original project “centers on a mild-mannered man who suddenly hears the "inner song" of people’s hearts after being struck on the head.”
"Ever since Hairspray, I’ve been desperate to do another musical," Shankman told Variety. "The idea of working with all original music is thrilling. With Bob the Musical, I’ll be working again with [Hairspray composer] Marc Shaiman. And Sinbad gives me the opportunity to really stretch my imagination as far as I can take it."