Danny DeVito and Mara Wilson are reuniting for a musical Matilda reboot. 

DeVito, who played Mr. Wormwood, Matilda’s (Wilson) horribly inattentive father in the 1996 film, confirmed the news with The Messenger. The two are partnering for Matilda in Concert. They won’t be on screen or stage, however. Instead, they will narrate the story. 

The actors had planned to perform in a live performance of Matilda with the New Jersey Philharmonic Orchestra last month. But the ongoing writers’ strike temporarily put a stop to it. There have been some recent developments, though, and people in the industry are hopeful that the strike will end soon. So DeVito is working to get his project back on track. 

“We had it all set. But after the strike hit, we couldn’t proceed because it would be seen as a promotion for a movie,” he admitted. “However, we’re still planning to do that. We’re going to watch the movie with David Newman’s score and try to do it sometime soon, as it seems the strike may be coming to an end — I hope!”

‘Matilda in Concert’ Currently Postponed Due to SAG-AFTRA Strike

Matilda was a massive hit in the 1990s. The film was an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s children’s book by the same name. It followed Matilda, a kind-hearted genius child with supernatural powers. She lived with her parents and brother, who were mean-spirited, vain, couch potatoes, and wanted nothing to do with the little girl. DeVito Served as the film’s director. 

The movie inspired its first musical reboot in 2010. The Royal Shakespeare Company opened Matilda the Musical at the Stratford-upon-Avon theater in the UK. It successfully ran there for two months before moving to London’s West End theater. It then debuted on Broadway on April 11, 2013. Production closed on January 1, 2017. 

Matilda in Concert was slated to play at State Theatre New Jersey on September 9 and is currently listed as “postponed.” While the strike is seemingly coming to a resolution, there is no hard timeline on the table. The official website says there will be updates soon. 

“Everyone involved in this production was very much looking forward to performing together this September, and we are disappointed to have to postpone it,” DeVito wrote in a statement on the page. “But we look forward to holding the performance on a future date once the strike has concluded.”