Elton John to turn 'Devil Wears Prada' into musical

NEW YORK - Pop superstar Elton John unveiled Thursday his return to Broadway with a musical adaptation of the blockbuster film and novel "The Devil Wears Prada."

The John will write the music for "The Devil Wears Prada," with lyrics to be penned by Paul Rudnick, a humorist who frequently writes for The New Yorker magazine.

"Reimagining 'The Devil Wears Prada' for the musical theatre is super exciting," John said in a statement, which added that the production timeline will be announced later.

"I'm a huge fan of both the book and the feature film, and a huge aficionado of the fashion world. I can't wait to sink my musical teeth into this hunk of popular culture," the English musician said.

While Broadway is notoriously tough terrain even for famous names, John has a proven record of triumph with musicals.

"The Lion King," his musical adaptation of the Disney animated film, set the record as the first show to gross $1 billion on Broadway where it remains the third longest-running show in history.

He also found success with a musical adaptation of Verdi's opera "Aida" as well as "Billy Elliot the Musical," which closed last year after a successful run on London's West End.

Meryl Street, Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt starred in the 2006 film "The Devil Wears Prada" about an all-powerful fashion magazine editor who tyrannically imposes her will on an ambitious young editorial assistant.

A major international box-office success, "The Devil Wears Prada" was based on the popular novel of the same name by Lauren Weisberger. The author formerly worked for longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, although she has never confirmed that Wintour was the inspiration. — Agence France-Presse