Jon M. Chu to direct Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat movie

Jon M. Chu is to direct a film version of 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'.

The 43-year-old filmmaker is to helm a new take on Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's famed musical based on the Bible tale of Joseph – who is driven from home by his 11 jealous brothers after being favoured by his father Jacob.

Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group has been aiming to develop the show into a spectacular Hollywood film and will now team up with Chu for the Amazon Studios flick.

Rice and Lloyd Webber came up with the idea for 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' in 1968 and the show has grown into a full-blown musical production that is regularly performed on London's West End and New York City's Broadway.

A direct-to-video film version of 'Joseph' was released in 1999 and featured Donny Osmond in the lead role. Dame Joan Collins and the late Richard Attenborough also starred.

The director will be reunited with his producing partner Scott Sanders on the movie and has experience in the musical genre after working on 'In The Heights'.

Chu is currently working in the UK on the two-part movie adaptation of 'Wicked' that features Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the lead roles.

He previously insisted that everybody had "earned" their place in the films – with the first part released in cinemas in November 2024.

Chu told Entertainment Tonight: "When you see the new cast, it's pretty awesome. Nobody was offered this role off the top. Everybody had to come and audition.

"We saw everybody in town who could sing. These are tough songs too. Everyone had to earn their position.

"When I say that they came in and blew us away, they earned that spot in every way. It was pretty amazing. It will bring you to tears. Every word means something different when it's coming from their mouth."