EXCLUSIVE: Milo Manheim, the 25-year-old L.A. native recently tapped to co-lead Disney’s live-action Tangled, has landed a lead role in Michael Showalter’s redo of rom-com Serendipity for Amazon MGM Studios and Miramax.
No word yet on the role Manheim will play. We announced the project in August; Showalter described this as not a straight remake or reboot of Serendipity, but rather a contemporary “rebuttal” of the original film centered on new characters.
Written by the original’s Marc Klein, the new Serendipity will be produced by Showalter and Jordana Mollick for Semi-Formal Productions, alongside Simon Fields, who produced the original. Jonathan Glickman, Alexandra Loewy, and Thom Zadra are exec producing for Miramax, alongside Klein.
Emily Crook is overseeing the project for Semi-Formal, which is under a multi-year, first-look film deal with Amazon MGM, while Arianna D’Andrea will oversee for Miramax.
Directed by Peter Chelsom and starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale, 2001’s Serendipity centers on a couple of strangers who fall for each other one Christmas night in New York, despite being engaged to other people. Separating, their potential future together is left unresolved — until, seven years later, each begins searching for the other.
Miramax released the film to major success — a worldwide gross exceeding $77 million — at a much different moment for the rom-com. Peter Abrams, Robert L. Levy and Simon Fields produced.
No word yet on whether the new take will be for theaters or streaming. But the original just celebrated its 25th anniversary with a screening at Wollman Rink, the Central Park ice skating venue that played a memorable supporting role.
Recently seen starring in the Paramount+ series School Spirits and Eli Roth’s horror flick Thanksgiving, Manheim is among the latest crop of young talents emerging from the world of Disney Channel to lead major studio projects. He’s best known for starring in their Zombies franchise, having also taken on roles in the likes of Prom Pact, Doogie Kameāloha, M.D., and Camp Rock 3.
Manheim remains in the Disney family today, as he’s currently set to star opposite Teagan Croft, in the lead role of charming thief Flynn Rider, in the studio’s live-action Tangled, heading to theaters on March 31, 2028. He is repped by Framework Entertainment, CAA, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman.