10 Movies & TV Shows You Didn’t Know Were Based on Shakespeare
By: By Colin Scanlon Biography
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
10 Movies & TV Shows You Didn’t Know Were Based on Shakespeare
Lion cub Simba and the melancholic Prince Hamlet have much more in common than you might think.
Despite his death centuries ago, legendary English playwright William Shakespeare’s unyielding influence on contemporary film, television, and media is nearly impossible to overstate.
As the progenitor of some of the most compelling narratives and clever turns of phrase throughout history, Shakespeare’s works comprise some of the greatest romances, tragedies, and comedies surviving today. Influencing some of the most prolific writers in history like Herman Melville and William Faulkner , Shakespeare’s continued omnipresence in our shared cultural zeitgeist is a testament to not only his remarkable talent, but also to his intrinsic understanding of human emotion and experience that transcends time to connect with readers today.
Here are 10 modern examples of movies and TV shows that took inspiration from the Bard.
Sons of Anarchy (2008 — 2014)
Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Summer has said his series, following a biker gang in the town of Charming, California, was heavily inspired by Shakespeare’s Hamlet . Using Jax Teller, the focal gang’s conflicted leader, as a stand-in for the morally compromised Prince of Denmark, the award-winning FX drama directly referenced Hamlet in numerous episode titles across its seven-season stint. Alongside the obvious Hamlet comparisons, Sons of Anarchy has also drawn parallels between other Shakespearean works, namely Macbeth through the gang matriarch Gemma’s chilling similarities to the ruthless, scheming Lady Macbeth.
The Lion King (1994)
Though originally pitched as “Bambi in Africa,” according to director Rob Minkoff, the 1994 Disney classic The Lion King slowly started resembling the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet once the creatives mapped out the film’s plot. After the similarities between the play and the burgeoning animated feature were noted, Minkoff leaned further into Shakespeare’s tragedy and began incorporating other elements of Hamlet into the film. Also drawing inspiration from the biblical tales of Joseph and Moses, the original, much more morbid ending for The Lion King even included the line “Good night, sweet prince,” an unforgettable quote from Horatio to a dying Prince Hamlet near the conclusion of the play.
Scotland, PA (2001)
Starring Christopher Walken , Maura Tierney, and James LeGros, Scotland, PA is a dark crime comedy from director Billy Morrissette based on Macbeth . Shifting the setting from the Highlands of 11th-century Scotland, the film instead takes place in a mid-1970s fast-food restaurant tucked away in the small town of Scotland, Pennsylvania. Complete with homophonic main character names appropriate for the new region like Joe ‘Mac’ McBeth for Macbeth and Anthony ‘Banko’ Banconi for Banquo, Morrissette first conceived the idea for this Shakespearean parody while working part-time at Dairy Queen as a teenager and simultaneously studying Macbeth at school.
10 Things I Hate About You (1999)
A modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy The Taming of the Shrew , the 1999 teen romcom 10 Things I Hate About You stars Julia Stiles as Katarina Stratford, a misanthropic loner and stand-in for Shakespeare’s titular “shrew” Katherina, and Heath Ledger as the rebellious Patrick Verona, the bad boy of the high school and a facsimile for The Taming of the Shrew ’s Petruchio. Serving as big Hollywood breakouts for both stars, 10 Things I Hate About You was both critically and commercially successful, pulling in more than $50 million worldwide and spawning a twenty-episode spin-off series for ABC starring Lindsey Shaw.
Empire (2015 — 2020)
Drawing inspiration from both Shakespeare’s King Lear and playwright James Goldman’s 1966 play The Lion in Winter , Lee Daniels ’ musical drama series Empire is a must watch. The show follows the Lyons, a wealthy family fighting for control of Empire Entertainment, an entertainment and production company founded by the ailing family patriarch, hip hop mogul Luscious Lyon. Even containing a direct reference to the Shakespearean drama during the show’s pilot episode, both Empire and King Lear follow three siblings vying for control of their dying father’s kingdom—in the case of King Lear , the literal kingdom of Britain, and in Empire , the powerhouse media company founded by Lyon.
West Side Story (1961)
Set in Manhattan’s Upper West Side during the 1950s, West Side Story follows the forbidden relationship of Tony and Maria, affiliates of the clashing white American Jets and Puerto Rican-American Sharks gangs. Initially titled East Side Story and imagined as a musical taking place in Manhattan’s Lower East Side chronicling a conflict between an Irish Catholic and Jewish family, the modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was eventually reworked to instead follow tensions in a multiracial neighborhood. Though both works tackle themes like forbidden love, familial tensions, and suffocating social constraints, West Side Story features a less tragic ending than Romeo and Juliet with the exclusion of Juliet’s suicide—instead ending with the Jets and Sharks uniting to mourn the slain Tony and Maria taking up the end of the procession
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001 — 2003)
Drawing inspiration from numerous Shakespearean works including King Lear , Macbeth , and A Midsummer Night’s Dream , J.R.R. Tolkien ’s The Lord of the Rings series (and subsequent film and television franchise) is heavily inspired by Shakespeare’s works despite Tolkien’s self-professed disdain for the playwright, particularly taking issue with his unflattering characterization of elves which also appear throughout Tolkien’s work. Despite Tolkien’s derision for Shakespeare’s writing, he admitted that some elements in The Lord of the Rings , most notably Ents (a species of anthropomorphic giant trees that appear throughout the series), were inspired by Tolkien’s total disappointment in a plot point near the end of Shakespeare’s Macbeth .
Warm Bodies (2013)
Based on Isaac Marion’s 2010 best-selling novel of the same name, Warm Bodies is a 2013 zombie rom-com inspired by Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet . Starring Nicholas Hoult and Teresa Palmer, the film follows the unlikely budding romance between a wayward zombie named R, and Julie, a survivor of the zombie apocalypse that devastated the planet almost a decade before the film begins. A decidedly more lighthearted interpretation of the Shakespearean tragedy, director Jonathan Levine’s deadpan comedy (pun not intended) feels like a midpoint between the cheesy romance of the Twilight series and the absurd humor of Simon Pegg’s beloved Shaun of the Dead .
Kiss Me Kate (1953)
Yet another adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew , 1953’s Kiss Me Kate was not only inspired by the aforementioned Shakespearean work itself but also by the acrimonious on- and off-stage quarreling between actors Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne throughout their 1935 stage production of the comedy at New York City’s August Wilson Theatre. Kiss Me Kate is a fun meta-story that follows two divorced musical theatre actors who play the leads in a musical adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew and feud relentlessly during the production. Most critics thought this to be a faithful adaptation of the stage musical it came from and a fun take on Shakespeare’s work, though it wasn’t a financial smash-hit.
She’s the Man (2006)
Starring Amanda Bynes , Channing Tatum , and Laura Ramsey, She’s the Man is a 2006 teen romcom following Viola Hastings, a young girl who disguises herself as her fraternal twin brother Sebastian in order to secure a spot on the boys soccer team at her brother’s new preparatory school. Inspired by another gender-bending romantic comedy, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night , both works center around a cross-dressing twin who falls for someone while disguised as the opposite sex, landing them in a hilariously absurd romantic quandary. A novel interpretation of one of Shakespeare’s more overlooked works, She’s the Man initially received mixed critical reviews but later garnered a cult following and helped launch Tatum’s career as an actor.
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Except for West Side Story, which is obvious, and I THINK Kiss Me Kate, I wouldn't have known that Shakespeare figured into these movies or TV shows. Goes to show you that "There's nothing new under the sun."
I saw this on another article..
I remember Forbidden Planet well. I was very much into Sci-Fi back then. I wonder which Shakespeare character Robbie the Robot was meant to be.
Almost all of Shakespeares plays address universal themes common to the human experience across space and time, that , and language, was his genius.
I'm starting to wonder about other famous authors whose works have inspired movies that are not openly obvious adaptations. For example, before I found out it was based on P&P I wouldn't have known Bridget Jones Diary was such an example.
The teen movie Clueless, which is considered to be based on the novel Emma is a good example. Good movie too.
'Ran' seemed like King Lear to me.
It was. It was on a similar list to the one I used.