‘Jersey Boys’ Film in Limbo After Dropped by Warner Brothers

There’s been a lot of news in recent months about Jon Favreau’s upcoming film adaptation of “Jersey Boys,” but now the future of the production is in jeopardy as Warner Bros. puts the film into turnaround.

This means that Favreau, along with producer Graham King and his GK Films, can begin to shop the film to another studio. But if no other studios pick up the film, the project may not move forward. The news comes just six weeks after Warner Bros. signed GK Films to an exclusive first-look deal for one year. The deal included acquiring “Jersey Boys.”

Variety reports that King will shop the project to other studios including Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount. The magazine also reports that having Favreau attached to the film is an attractive element after his success directing “Iron Man.”

No official casting had yet been announced for the film, but Variety reports that John Magaro, Dominic Cooper, Vincent Piazza, Paul Dana and James Badge Dale were all being considered for lead roles in the film. Additionally, Warner Bros. had been targeting a Christmas 2013 release date for the film.

“Jersey Boys” is a jukebox musical that tells the story of the unlikely rise to stardom by Frankie Valli and his 1960s pop group the Four Seasons. The Broadway production began in October 2005 and subsequent U.S. national tours have been held since. The original production was nominated for eight Tony Awards, winning three including Best Musical. The London version of the production won the 2008 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical.

John Logan is set to write the screenplay for the film version. He is known for his writing work on films including “Gladiator,” “The Last Samurai” and Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo.” Additionally, he wrote the upcoming 23^rd installment of the James Bond series, “Skyfall.”