Darren Aronofsky Is Making A Black Swan Musical – Here's Why That's A Brilliant Idea

Darren Aronofsky succeeded in capturing an artist's dark, dizzying descent into madness in his brilliant, dynamic "Black Swan," which can be considered among the director's finest works. Intensely atmospheric, moody, and anchored by a bravura performance by Natalie Portman, "Black Swan" shines best when it unravels its narrative complexity via unnerving visuals. Have you ever wondered how the film's subject matter would translate into an intense, charged Broadway performance? Well, it seems like Aronofsky is actually working on a "Black Swan" musical at the moment, and chances are that a musical rendition of 2010 psychological horror will be equally (if not more) haunting on stage.

During an interview with The A.V. Club for the promotion of his latest drama, "The Whale" (read our review here), Aronofsky confirmed that he's working on adapting "Black Swan" into a Broadway musical. The director said:

"We're trying to do the Black Swan musical. We'll see what happens. But we're working on it."

Aronofsky seems to be in the "figuring-out" stage at the moment, and he also expressed his interest in making an actual movie musical in the near future. Saying that he would "love to [do one]," Aronofsky has been talking to "many people about it" and has "come close to a few ideas." An Aronofsky musical is bound to be filled with dense, macabre ideas and escalating melodrama, and I hope we can witness one sometime soon. In the meanwhile, let us dive into why a "Black Swan" musical directed by Aronofsky is a swell idea.

"Black Swan" follows rising ballet dancer Nina (Portman), whose ambition to blossom as the "perfect" candidate for the dual roles in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" comes at an unimaginable price. Aronofsky's inspirations, which range from folkloric myths about doppelgangers to literal scene-by-scene recreations of Satoshi Kon's "Perfect Blue," inform his layered tale about artistic ambition and trauma-induced spiral into madness. Paranoia invades every scene, as Nina is haunted by a version of herself she doesn't quite know or understand — leading to sequences that mimic a fever dream. These qualities, although tricky to evoke onstage, can imbue the "Black Swan" musical with an eerie, surreal quality in perfect sync with its subject matter.

The core catalyst in "Black Swan" is Tchaikovsky's ballet production, an artform that uses music to weave a tale and is exclusively meant to be performed on-stage. As a result, the Broadway version will effortlessly bring this aspect of the story to life, adding further layers of authenticity to Nina's manic, disoriented transformation onstage during her final performance. Moreover, the right kind of music can definitely elevate the horror embedded in Nina's everyday existence and offer a gripping, visual spectacle that seamlessly blends her life and her art.

This undertaking, however, is massive in scope, and Aronofsky admits that finding the right kind of music to accompany a theatrical production is "the big challenge" after all. At the same time, this is a great opportunity for Aronofsky to direct a Broadway musical that leans exclusively into psychological horror, which is definitely an event worth checking out.