There was a possibility that Michael Jackson would appear in “The The Phantom of the Opera”⁉︎Legend of the musical world who was completely particular about making it into a movie

The role of the heroine becomes a 16-year-old innocent girl.

In the case of musical movies, casting is important. Often, when singing and dancing skills are given priority, it is extremely difficult to find candidates among movie stars with world-renowned name value. On the other hand, when original cast members from a stage play are used, they are often older than the characters they play, which is not suitable for movies that seek to be realistic. If ``The Phantom of the Opera'' had been made into a film by Crawford and Brightman as originally conceived, it would have carried the same risks.

Schumacher wanted to make the characters younger overall, but Lloyd Webber made a condition that ``no dubbing of songs be allowed.'' Based on these conditions, the first candidates for the role of heroine Christine were Charlotte Church, then 17 years old, who had already gained popularity as a genius girl singer, and Anne Hathaway, 20 years old. Hathaway appeared in a Broadway musical in 2002, so experience is no problem. However, she decided not to appear in the role as it turned out that it would coincide with the filming of ` `Pretty Princess 2: Royal Wedding '' (2004).

The next candidate was 16-year-old Emmy Rossum, who is not yet a huge star. Rossum, who had been training at New York's prestigious Metropolitan Opera since he was 7 years old, was chosen for the role, and Schmucker, who met him at the audition, said, ``I felt like I was struck by lightning.'' Coincidentally, in the film version, the character Christine is 16 years old (the story is set in 1870, but one scene shows Christine was born in 1854).

“The Phantom of the Opera” (C) The Scion Films Phantom Production Partnership

Lloyd Webber also said, ``It's impossible for a 16-year-old girl to perform eight times a week on stage because she doesn't have the throat.The setting and casting were perfect for the movie.''・The fact that Rossum is 16 years old contributes to the purity that the work seeks.

On the other hand, it was quite difficult to play the role of Phantom. Candidates included Hugh Jackman, Antonio Banderas, Kevin Spacey, John Travolta, Meat Loaf, Matthew McConaughey, and even Heath Ledger.

Of these, Banderas had already experienced Lloyd Webber's work with `` Evita '' (1996), so he was said to be quite motivated. In fact, he performed Phantom songs at Lloyd Webber's 1998 concert. However, Lloyd Webber dismissed the idea, saying, ``It's a bit unreasonable for a 16-year-old girl to be the romantic partner.'' Indeed, Antonio Banderas was already in his 40s at the time.

It is said that Michael Jackson also saw the stage version and told Lloyd Webber, ``If a movie was ever made, I would like to play the Phantom.'' However, this was just after the production had started and there was no talk of making it into a movie, so the story about Michael disappeared.

Difficult casting considering singing ability and popularity