Phantom of the Opera Sequel – Love Never Dies

Because no one asked for it, Andrew Lloyd Webber decided that his insanely successful Broadway production The Phantom of the Opera needed a sequel. The title he is working with is Phantom: Love Never Dies. His hopes are that a sequel to the movie based on his stage musical will in turn inspire stage productions based on a movie.

IESB.net gives us:

The sequel will be set a decade or so after the first installment, during which time the Phantom has relocated from the Paris Opéra of Gaston Leroux’s original novel to Coney Island in Brooklyn, then still a hugely popular beach-side amusement resort for New Yorkers. “It was the place,” said Lloyd Webber. “Even Freud went because it was so extraordinary … people who were freaks and oddities were drawn towards it because it was a place where they could be themselves.”

The Phantom will be reunited with Christine, the “Swedish soprano.”

And who does Webber have in mind to take the Phantom role? He says, “We are pretty clear who our Phantom is going to be – I can’t say who,” he said.

Let me first say that I have seen the stage production of Phantom three times. I fancy myself a bit of a fan.

And despite my personal grudges against Joel Joel Schumacher for what he did to Batman and hero movies in general, I have to admit that I fell in love with the film adaptation. That movie captivated me and allowed me to experience the music again. It also introduced me to Emmy Rossum. She is truly an angel of music.

Two names being tossed about to star in the sequel are Hugh Jackman or Gerard Butler. Butler played (and sang) as the Phantom in the 2004 film, so naturally I would hope he would reprise his role.

I hope they get Rossum to return as well to reprise Christine. Rumour had it last summer that Katherine Jenkins would be getting the part but back then Webber wanted John Barrowman to be the Phantom.

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62 thoughts on “Phantom of the Opera Sequel – Love Never Dies

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  2. I want both emma rossum and gerard butler to play their part in phanton sequel, it would not be the same without them, movie goers always like the originals, therefore it would not be attracting asmany peopel without them.

  3. I hope they use all the same people for the sequel as well… I really do. The first time I ever heard of or seen Phantom Of The Opera was when the movie with Gerard Butler came out. Before then, when I maybe DID hear of it a few times, I cringed because I thought it sounded like a scary story… But man, was I wrong! And I LOVE it, now! :3

  4. The movie of Love Never Dies Comes out this March and yes Butler should be the Phantom but Barrowman would do nicely becasue the phantom is suposed to look older and he is great in his own show TORCHWOOD

  5. I say the Gerald should be the phantom again.
    he was without a doubt my fav person in the movie.
    and does any1 no when this comes out in movie form?
    it would b the onjly way for me to watch it…

  6. I Reeeeaaaalllyyy hope they make a movie sequel. Gerard Butler did an amazing job as Phantom, not to mention his good looks made it even better. Although Hugh Jackman can sing (He starred in Oklahoma) it wouldn’t seem to feel right knowing Butler was the original ‘movie Phantom.’ I’d really like to see Emmy Rossum back in it as Christine too. In my opinion, her and Butler seemed to have some chemistry in the first movie. Another question you would have to ask yourself thought is, who is going to play Gustave? But, then you might be getting a little ahead of yourself. I know it will be an amazing movie sequel nonetheless.

  7. The phantom of the Opera is the most amazing musical i have ever seen. I am a big fan!! I do Hope that Emmy and Gerard will come back to reclaim their roles if there’s a sequel.

  8. There is nothing the fans hate more than a changed cast. Especially me. If they don’t put Emmy and Gerard into the sequel then me if not others would be disappointed. Sure it might end up to be a great movie if they dont put them in. But it wouldn’t be the same. You have to keep the cast the same. What if Harrison Ford didn’t play in all the Indianna johnes series? What if Robert Pattinson didn’t play edward or Taylor Lautner didn’t play jacob throughout the whole twilight series? It just wouldn’t be the same. Keep to the originals. The first phantom of the opera was simply beautiful. Both Emmy and Gerard were perfect for it.

    1. I just found this post searching for info on a possible Love Never Dies movie. I must say that some of the comments are very funny to me.
      First, I’m French and I read the original book by Gaston Leroux and also the other one (Phantom) out of curiosity.
      The second one was Ok but you can’t compare it to the original !
      Definitely not the same style. Every mystery of the first one is spoiled in Phantom.
      Secondly, I also saw the two musicals. I always found the POTO musical marvelous compared to other musical (French or English). At first, I was against a sequell but after seeing it, if you take it as an independant musical, you can’t say it’s bad.
      If you liked the style of the POTO musical, you should like the style of LND, it’s the same and more.
      In the end, I still prefer the POTO musical but I plan to see both of them in a week-end …
      Concerning the movie, copmaring Gerard Butler to Robert Pattinson (have you ever saw a vampire so unattractive?) or Taylor Lautner (though better than Robert) is an insult to him (to Gerard Butler, I mean).
      I found him fantastic in the POTO movie, not the same Phantom as in the musical, but very touching in his way, more desesperate.
      I would love to see him again in the sequell movie (but I still don’t know from this post if there really will be a sequell, does anyone really know at all ???). i’m a really big fan of him. Emmy Rossum was also great.
      By the way, the French version was a real disaster.
      But having seen Doctor Who and Torchwood and heard some of John Barrowman singing, I must say that I would be curious to hear him as the Phantom. That should be interesting …
      And please, no Antonio Banderas. If need be, I’d rather have Hugh Jackman instead of him but Gerard and John would be great.

  9. I think Gerard Butler should play thhe phantom once more. He understood the emotions of the character. Emmy Rossum cant be replaced. She is a talented woman and can sing anything! Cant wait 4 the sequal though. Bet its going to be gr8!

  10. I realy want them to make the movie of love never dies because i have not seen the play i wish i could but i cant so i want the movie to be made and i want them to make the people who played in the first movie to play in the second one because i love there singing so so much so i hope they make one soon and i hope i will hear soon when the date it will be out

  11. Why a sequel? Honestly I think the Phantom of the Opera musical, to me, was tend to be tragic ending. The Phantom let Christine go, a sad ending. He leaves and we never heard of him again. It should have ended there, where I think, as a audience, should think were is he and that he has moved on with his life, like everyone else. The sequel sounded not connected to the original Broadway version or the movie. But there was one idea that I do like a lot, Christine has a son (I’m not telling the rest of it, because even if I point out about the son, you’ll know what will happen)

  12. OMG LOVED POTO. Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum are freaking amazing, but only for the MOVIE. I am actually looking forward to seeing Love Never Dies.
    POTO had a very unsatisfactory ending, so if the sequel does suck then it would just be a sign that this classic has to end. If it’s good on the other hand then there’s something else for us to love. I do not see a bad side to this, but I IMPLORE them to make another movie!!

  13. LOVED POTO… can’t wait to see the sequel, hopefully the ending is satisfing than the first. I Can’t really imagine how there gonna pull this off especially with the ending of the original.

  14. I actually saw the movie before the stage production. I took my wife to see the movie. “Trying to be the good hubby.” When the movie was over I was floored. I thought that it was a great movie. We liked it so much that we caught the first stage production that we could. As for the sequel, most sequels never live up to the original but once in while they do. If there is a sequel we will definitely go see it in the hopes that it will live up to original. As for the actors, I would like to see the same cast as the original movie.

  15. I agree with you Lindsey. I think the sequel is going the lose the Phantom’s magic and the story. I was hoping that the it will end the story ended when the Phantom (Erik) dissapears and that’s it. But I also heard from ALW that he tried to stay with his Phantom of the Opera story and countiue with it.

  16. Hello I am a HUGE fan of The Phantom Of The Opera musical since it opened WAY back at Her Majesty’s Theatre London. I’ve LOVED seeing it all TEN times and once on Broadway. So, a sequel to this AMAZING musical would be terrible!!!
    I wasn’t too happy when I heard of a film being made but it wasn’t too bad at all. We were shown in the end that Christine had died and saw Raoul putting flowers on her grave. I assume this was in Paris – no other info was given that it was in New York (!!!!) and that the Phanom had also visited the grave leaving the ‘rose with the black ribbon’ which we saw in the film.
    How does THAT match up with the story to the sequel???? I thought the film was telling us that it was all over – Christine had died but the mysterious Phantom was still alive – very old though!!!
    As for the cast, well I wasn’t too sure about Gerard Butler being the Phantom in the film. Even he said in an article his voice wasn’t that good BUT his acting was awesome. VERY impressed with that. He is a FILM actor and don’t expect to see him in a stage production.
    I’m very wary about the sequel. To me the stage show gives us the impression that the Phantom has ‘disappeared’ and that is it. It’s the magic of him vanishing into thin air. Isn’t the sequel going to TOTALLY destroy that?????

    What do you all think?

  17. A sequel! Wow!

    But I hope that there will be surprises in the plot. Because we all know that the Phantom won’t get the girl, (Christine’s already married with Raoul complete with son Gustave) and the ending is likely to be really tragic again.

    Potential disappointment for many fans. Hopefully the poor Phantom will get some kind of closure. Call me cliché but I hope for a less tragic ending than last time.

    Set ten years after the curious incident at the Opera populaire, perhaps the Phantom might try and seduce Christine again. With predictable results.

    Wow. This sequel will be most challenging for Mr. Webber. It will either be the greatest disaster of all time, or the best thing in theatre history.

    GO ALW!!!!

  18. gerard butler..AGAIN!!!! I am such a big fan of his iwould definatley go and watch it.. if not gerry then john barrowman, he is amazing. Hope its either of them. would absolutley go and watch it. couldnt get enough of the film!!!!! XX

    p.s. Gerry is a great singer and could work well on the stage especially if emmy was christine again. I wouldnt want to see Ramin Karimloo ( no offence Ramin). maybe even the originl phantom- Michael Crawford.

  19. The show definately wont be as good as the first one, so will probably ruin the first one for everyone.
    I’m sure the music will be amazing but I’m pretty sure it wont be as good as the first one!

    Gerry was great in the film, but is not a stage actor. He shouldn’t be in the show.
    Emmy could be good as Christine because she’s a trained singer, but Gerry isn’t!!
    I know he’s hot people, but someone like Michael Crawford or Ramin Karimloo (London Phantom) are much better singers

  20. This tells me ONE thing. Lloyd Webber has completely lost it creatively…and the whole idea is just repugnant.

    You don’t take a “Masterpiece” and cash in on it.

    No wonder he hasn’t done any other truly creative work since the original “Phantom”.

    I, for one, am not amused and I am not “looking forward” to this cheap bastardization of a “complete original masterpiece”.

    1. Sorry Donald, I wouldn’t say he hasn’t done anything truly creative considering since Phantom he has credits writing and composing 5 other original and creative musicals.

      When you are trying to jump on that “Webber is a hack” bandwagon, you might want to do a little research.

      That he chose to do a sequel to one of his own properties is his own business. That you think he is “cashing in” is just speculation with no basis.

      Just sayin.

  21. Michael Crawford was amazing, and Sarah Brightman was magnificent in the original. I fell in love with the story, the music and the cast.

    I am not sure that a sequel is necessary… however I am very open to the idea. Personally, I think Webber is an amazing man, extremely talented and knows where to go to find other talent that compliments all that he does.

    I truly believe that our children and more people could use some good cultural experiences… and watching a movie just loses some of the fantastic experience that watching onstage can provide.

  22. In regards to Emmy Rossum playing Christine, I thought she did it beautifully. And in regards to them making a sequel to the movie without Gerard Butler, well, why bother? He is the reason I and my entire family fell in love with this story, the music and the magic of it all. I just couldn’t imagine anyone else.

  23. His hopes are that a sequel to the movie based on his stage musical will in turn inspire stage productions based on a movie.”

    I find this statement confusing. The sequel is to the originall stage musical. There might be at some time a movie version based on the this stage sequel.

    I can’t imagine that Gerard Butler would be chosen as one of the Phantoms—-if there are three in different cities. His voice was just good enough to get through the movie, but to do eight shows a week in the West End or on Broadway….he would need a LOT of voice training to develop the strength of voice and stamna to do that kind of work. He has a successful movie career. Why would he want to take two years out to be in a stage musical? (months of rehearsal and at least six months in the show).

    I think the whole sequel idea is a very bad one. No sequel to a musical has ever been a success, and the original Phantom of the Opera stage musical ends perfectly, leaving it up to the audience to wonder or imagine what happens next. Why ALW thinks we all ought to believe that the Phantom escapes, is not redeemed as he was at the end of the orginal show, and is after Christine again, in Coney Island, of all places.

    Bah, humbug!

  24. Can you please fix your post to where the earliest “post” is at the beginning and the end, it so annoying to have to go to the last page to see the most recent….
    I think I speak for most of us….
    Thank you in advance.
    Aaron

  25. I LOVE the stage production, seen it twice. Rodney, wasn’t Sarah Brightman the original Christine? I agree with you though – I don’t like the way she sings it and Antonio Banderas sounds terrible as the Phantom

  26. I LOVE The POTO movie. LOVE it. That being said, this sequel idea does not please me at all. Moving the setting from the gorgeous opulence of Paris to friggin’ CONEY ISLAND makes me cringe. Some things just don’t need sequels.

  27. Phantom of the Opera is by far my favorite musical so I would be open to a sequel, but with that being said in my book it is a classic and you don’t mess with the classic. Yes, it is Webber’s work and he can do what every he want with it but sometime a creator can destroy their own work by expanding on their ideas. If you don’t believe me look at Star Wars. Lucas put out a classic Sci-Fi/ Adventure story but when he made the prequel he lost some fans via disappointment. Only real sequel to musical/opera I can recall is the High Musical series…horrible musical+ “young Disney perfect stars” + screaming preteens = $$$$$$, pathetic.

    “You are the worst thing to happen to musical theater since Andrew Lloyd Webber” — Stewie Griffin

  28. No.
    OK, I actually like Butler’s Phantom (one of about 15 people who did), but on stage, he would flat suck.
    Also, the book that this sequel is based on (which, instead of acting as a continuation of Leroux’s novel, was actually intended as more of a fanfic of the musical) is absolutely terrible.

    All I can say is that Otto Lloyd Webber gave his life to destroy this musical, and in his memory, we should avoid the turkey at all costs.

    1. I agree that Butler would not do well on stage. I also fully agree about the sequel and the book its based off of.
      God bless that poor cat! There should be a national holiday in his honor! Write Comment here. Before you do, review these rules:
      1) Stay on topic
      2) Disagree and debate, but no insulting other commenters or the author
      3) off topic messages for the author should be emailed directly, not left as a comment.

    2. Actually ALW said he change alot of the story from the book. I read the book, you’er right. It was not as good as the musical, but when I read ALW’s story, it sounded a bit better.

  29. Rodney – I’d rather someone who could sing be cast rather than a pretty face. (And if Dessay is a “hag”, check out Anna Netrebko or Joyce DiDonato). Rossum was part of the kid’s chorus at the Met, but she hasn’t trained as extensively as other singers, even if she is nice looking. If they do cast her, I think it’s out of fear of stepping out and giving a new singer a chance and playing it safe with celebrity. They might as well cast Miley Cyrus. Webber has a lot of shows on Broadway because he’s profitable, and I compared it to ‘Twilight’ because it’s just as overrated, badly written, and nauseating. The love story isn’t compelling, the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes, the music is ripped off of other composers (“All I Ask Of You” has parts of ‘Tosca’ in it), and for some reason, people flock to it. I’d much rather see a new ‘Sunday in the Park With George’ or ‘Candide’, but ‘Phantom’ sells so it’s still around.

    My reasoning is that there are much better trained and talented singers than Rossum, Webber can’t hold a candle to R&H or Sondheim, and I’m disappointed Broadway is churning out more Kenny G when I’d rather have Wynton Marsalis. I’m a big fan of musical theater and opera and it’s aggravating that Broadway is afraid of taking a risk with a new composer or a new idea. At least the plays are still interesting.

    If you like ALW, I respect that. Begrudgingly, but I respect it.

    1. Well to be honest if you could sing you would feel diferently about it and it’s a shame you’re so blind as poto happens to be the longest running broadway and second longest running musical after les mis. If you were right it would have died out ages ago.

  30. Yes. that Dessay lady can sing. But Christine would be in her 20s according to the storyline and no way a 43 year old hag of a woman could portray her with such grace. I googled her images and its a good thing she sings well. And Rossum IS a real singer, having been trained professionally and attending very elite music schools for her gift.

    I liked the Phantom movie. Webber has more musical scores on Broadway than any other composer, so I doubt hack is an accurate term.

    And by the Twilight of Broadway, do you mean incredibly popular, successful and widely appreciated? Because I don’t get that reference at all. Shows that don’t succeed on Broadway are not often given the chance to be the longest running show on Broadway.

    I do agree a sequel is unnecessary, however I find your reasoning and your attempt at a substitute for Christine to be failing.

    1. May I point out that when Emmy rossum did her fantastic role of christine and did it perfectly, she was only 16 years old and the woman in your little clip looks a lot older and also, as a singer myself I know that the music Emmy sings is spectacularly hard. Lastly how can you say phantom is an abortion? Get a grip and don’t clog up places where you don’t need to be or even want to be.
      On a lighter note the woman in the clip was also fantastic and something a friend of mine would be thrilled to see as she is training to be a professional opera singer herself so thanks :)

      1. I completely agree with you about how difficult the songs are. I’m doing Wishing you Were Somehow Here Again for my GCSE and it is murder.Emmy was so good to get those notes at the same age as me and an octave higher than I’m currently singing them and whats on the score. Whoever says she is crap is a moron and obviously has not attempted the music. You cannot critisise until you have attempted it!

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