People Are Just Realising This Popular Rom-Com Was Actually Inspired By A Shakespeare Play

Suddenly so much makes sense...
Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney in Anyone But You
Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney in Anyone But You
Sony

Anyone But You, the hit romantic comedy starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, has just set a new box office record.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that despite some rather middling reviews from film critics, the movie had pulled in $189 million (around £150 million) worldwide, making it the highest-grossing live-action adaptation of a William Shakespeare play in history .

Yes, you read that right. Anyone But You is actually loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, with references to the original text littered throughout the film, right down to the characters’ names and allusions to quotes from the play.

And if all of that is news to you – then don’t worry, you’re clearly not the only one…

Anyone But You is a Shakespeare adaptation?!? They kept that quiet!

— Lindsay 🐧 (@LindsayK_23) February 19, 2024

highest grossing live-action WHAT https://t.co/RRomjK6Dc7

— Wendell (@RhodeToLove) February 19, 2024

this is how i find out this movie is a shakespeare adaptation https://t.co/A5Nzi5S4Rq

— andy (@littlvrs) February 19, 2024

Anyone But You was Shakespeare?! https://t.co/vrnwV3DyRe pic.twitter.com/0OgVAK3A5I

— Shadow Knight (@shadowknightdk) February 19, 2024

Me finding out it’s based on Shakespeare https://t.co/qSbyiguyBu pic.twitter.com/sry8hTqY5Y

— Heavy Spoilers (@heavyspoilers) February 19, 2024

this is how I found out ‘anyone but you’ is an adaptation of william shakespeare’s much ado about nothing https://t.co/dEMj1FSr42

— Kristal (@kristalterrell) February 19, 2024

the marketing team for anyone but you really missed the mark not advertising this movie as a shakespeare adaptation bc this shit slaps i love it

— lauren ✨ (@lauren_lawls) February 19, 2024

Of course, Anyone But You is far from the only contemporary movie that was inspired by the work of the Bard.

As well as more direct film adaptations like Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet, the 90s fave 10 Things I Hate About You was based on The Taming Of The Shrew, while the Amanda Bynes and Channing Tatum comedy She’s The Man was inspired by Twelfth Night.

The Disney fave The Lion King also has several parallels with Hamlet, while the musical West Side Story is a retelling of Romeo And Juliet.

Anyone But You previously made an unexpected impact on the world of pop, with Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten climbing the UK charts thanks to its prominent placement in the film, in a move mirroring Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s recent resurgence thanks to Saltburn.

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