With a well-established penchant for musical films, Disney is mining a century-old IP for its next entry in the genre.

Deadline has reported that the Branded TV unit is in early development on a movie project called Phantom for its flagship Disney+ streamer that reimagines Gaston Leroux’s novel The Phantom of the Opera (1909) for YA audiences.

Kenny Ortega (who confirmed the news on his Instagram page) is on board to executive produce and direct, working with a spec script penned by Giovanni Porta (At Midnight). Candle Media’s LA-based Exile Content Studio will executive produce, and choreographer Paul Becker (Riverdale) is also attached.

This project marks Ortega’s return to the Disney fold after the conclusion of a five-year deal he signed with Netflix in 2019 that yielded teen series Julie and the Phantoms (2020).

Leroux’s novel—which has spawned multiple films and award-winning stage adaptations over the years—tells the tale of a mysterious masked figure who haunts the Paris Opera House and takes a strong interest in a young vocalist. The classic story was previously aged down for kids in a loose adaptation called Phantom of the Megaplex, which premiered on Disney Channel in 2000. 

Ortega has directed a lot of notable work for Disney, including several hit films from the popular High School Musical and Descendants franchises, as well as Hocus Pocus (1993) and The Cheetah Girls 2 (2006). He’s also credited as the choreographer on iconic coming-of-age movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Pretty in Pink. And his music entertainment experience extends to directing concerts for top acts such as Michael Jackson (HIStory World Tour), Cher (Heart of Stone Tour) and Miley Cyrus (Best of Both Worlds Tour).