Before heading off on his sabbatical in October, Ryan Reynolds announced that he had wrapped filming on his new Apple TV+ movie, Spirited, a new musical take on the classic Dickens story A Christmas Carol. The film also stars Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer and makes its debut in time for the festive season next year, but Reynolds has delivered a special Christmas treat with a short slideshow of images from the movie that he shared with fans on Instagram. For those who are looking forward to the musical extravaganza, this will be a pleasant sneak peek at what to expect from the holiday movie.
Spirited sees Reynolds take on the character of Scrooge, in all but name, and he will find himself gaining unwanted attention from three ghosts who are all intent on showing him the error of his less than generous ways. In many ways the movie seems to take a lot of leads from the Bill Murray classic Scrooged, which brought a modern twist to the Dickens tale back in the late 1980s, but this time around we get a lot more song and dance as has been seen in leaked footage from the set.
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“That’s a wrap for me on Spirited. Not sure I’d have been ready to say yes to a film this challenging even three years ago. Singing, dancing and playing in the sandbox with Will Ferrell made a whole lotta dreams come true. And this is my second film with the great Octavia Spencer… Perfect time for a little sabbatical from movie making. I’m gonna miss every second working with this obscenely gifted group of creators and artists. These days, kindness matters as much as talent. I’ve been lucky to work with folks who are flush with both,” Reynolds wrote, when he signed off from the movie.
So far there has only been a very basic synopsis released for the movie, which promises surprises with its new take on the well-used theme, but it is safe to say that the general storyline is going to remain unchanged. Written by Daddy’s Home scribed Sean Anders and John Morris, the synopsis reads: “A musical version of the classic Christmas story by Charles Dickens. A miserly man who treats everyone around him with terrible selfishness finds himself on a fantastical adventure into the three phases of time: past, present, and future, in order to discover how he ended up so miserable and alone."
Just prior to filming wrapping, a series of videos from the set were leaked on social media featuring Reynolds and Ferrell singing and dancing with a throng of Victorian-dressed dancers putting on a show in snow-lined streets, and the pair have clearly had a great time working on the film. Reynolds in particular has been in awe of his co-star, who from the start of filming made it clear that shooting alongside his comedy hero has been a magical experience that he has dearly loved. How much of that magic comes through in Spirited will be seen next year when it arrives on Apple TV+.
