Sabrina Carpenter’s musical chops and penchant for theatricality have prompted fans to dream-cast her in multiple movie musicals: from a (theoretical) third Mamma Mia! to the live-action Tangled that’s reportedly in development at Disney. But for now, Carpenter is taking her talents to Wonderland.
Carpenter will star in and produce a movie musical inspired by Lewis Carroll’s 1865 book, Alice in Wonderland (or Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland). While Disney may be behind several Alice movies (including the 1951 animated film and two live-action adaptations in the 2010s), this one comes from Universal Pictures.
Lorene Scafaria, the critically acclaimed filmmaker behind Hustlers, will write and direct.
The Hollywood Reporter cited sources who called the upcoming musical a “passion project” for Carpenter, who reportedly came to Universal equipped with ideas — and a lookbook. (Can you imagine the movie’s ’fits? The press tour?)
Her Longtime Love Of Alice
If you’ve been following Carpenter well before she ever brewed “Espresso,” this may not come as a surprise. Last year, for example, fans interpreted Carpenter and then-beau Barry Keoghan’s Met Gala looks as a nod to Alice and the Mad Hatter.
But the lore goes even further than that. In 2015, Carpenter hosted an Alice in Wonderland-themed sweet 16. And in 2020, it was announced that she would lead and produce a musical reimagining called Alice for Netflix, set at a musical festival called Wonderland. As the multi-hyphenate told Bustle in 2022, it would be something “no one’s ever seen before.”
Fans held out hope for Carpenter’s Alice project, even as the Netflix iteration appeared to fizzle out. As one Redditor wondered earlier this year, “guys do we still think she’d circle back to it someday or do i need to move on.”
Alas, it’s happening! It’s not clear if the newly announced film will follow Alice in terms of its music festival setting or if it will be an entirely distinct premise. But either way, Carpenter is finally stepping into the project of her dreams.
As she told Variety last year, her music might have prompted an “unwarranted break” from acting, but she never wanted to walk away from the field entirely, explaining that she’d often look over scripts. Only, “a lot of them sound like five other already released movies.”
Fortunately, it seems that Carpenter’s Alice in Wonderland movie will be an original, bop-filled adventure.
