Paige Biopic Fighting With My Family Being Adapted As Stage Musical

The Rock is reteaming with Stephen Merchant to turn the Paige biopic Fighting With My Family into a stage musical. Tilted Musicals announced on Tuesday that they are developing the 2019 biopic into a musical. The new project is in collaboration with Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia’s Seven Bucks Productions, Stephen Merchant, Kevin Misher and Birmingham Hippodrome.

The film will feature book and lyrics by Jon Brittain, who won an Olivier Award in 2017 for Rotterdam. It will also feature a soundrack from Miranda Cooper and Nick Cooler. Cooper is best known for her work in 2000s British pop, writing songs for acts like Girls Aloud, Pet Shop Boys, Sugababes, and Kylie Minogue.

Fighting With My Family was released in 2019 and was based on the life of Paige as she made her way into WWE. It starred Florence Pugh as Paige and, along with that same year’s Midsommar, helped pave the way for Pugh’s road to stardom. The film also starred Vince Vaughn, Lena Headey, and Nick Frost, with Zelina Vega playing AJ Lee and Johnson, Big Show, Sheamus and The Miz all cameoing as themselves.

Written and directed by Merchant, Fighting With My Family earned critical praise, with a 93% critic aggregate score on Rotten Tomatoes, and grossed $41.5 million worldwide against an $11 million budget.

The news comes just a few days after Paige herself made her return to WWE at WrestleMania 42 and teamed with Brie Bella to win the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships.

Merchant said in a statement about the new musical, “When we were making the film, I always thought of it like a musical: a young woman from the ‘chorus line’ fighting to get her big break, surrounded by theatrical, larger-than-life characters and huge sweeping emotions. I approached each wrestling match like it was a different dance number, building to a big show-stopping finale. Seeing the film reimagined for the stage feels like the natural next step. The team have captured the humour, grit and heart of the story in a way that feels both faithful to the film and completely fresh.”

The Rock added, “Fighting With My Family feels exceptionally well-suited for the stage. It’s packed with personal emotion expressed through the dynamic world of wrestling, which has always been about storytelling and connecting with a live audience. Working with Stephen Merchant on the film was a truly special experience, and his brilliant work deserves this new act. As it comes to life musically, I have no doubt it will be an absolute blast for theatergoers.”