The 1968 novel The Last Unicorn is perhaps best known for its 1982 animated adaptation, which featured voice performances by Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Christopher Lee, Mia Farrow and Angela Lansbury. The film version did not perform stunningly at the box office but has become one of the most loved non-Disney animations of the decade and gained a large cult following. Now it looks like the novel could be getting a live-action treatment and a new stage musical production in the works with Black Eyed Peas member Fergie on songwriting duty.

It was initially reported in 2014 that Fergie and former husband Josh Duhamel were developing an adaptation of the story. Still, there has been no official word that the production would be going ahead since then. The latest details come from the FAQ page of the recently formed entertainment company Beagleverse’s website, a group founded by Michael Heard and Lauren Sands with The Last Unicorn author Peter S. Beagle. The site notes that both a stage production and live-action movie of The Last Unicorn are “both in the works” but do not go into any further details on either potential project.

Since the publication of the novel in the 60s, The Last Unicorn has been twice adapted into stage productions, with the most recent being in 2009 by Promethean Theatre Ensemble in Chicago, but this seems like it would be a larger-scale project than that version, or the 1988 Pacific Northwest Ballet version that preceded it. While the animated movie, which was produced by Rankin-Bass Productions, still stands as the most loved version of the story, fans have been hearing plans for a live-action iteration for almost two decades now. With nostalgia playing a big part in many Hollywood releases at the moment and advancements in CGI and practical effects being at the kind of level such a fantasy tale requires, the time could be just right for The Last Unicorn.

last unicorn screenshot

Sadly, as is the case in many of Hollywood’s longest-standing problematic movie developments, at least part of the reason why The Last Unicorn has not already been made into a live-action movie is down to legal wrangling around the rights to the property. In an era when legal battles over character and story rights are the norm, it is not surprising that The Last Unicorn has been the subject of its own case. Back in 2006, Continent Films unveiled a website that announced a new movie adaptation, but the project was never updated. One of the reasons for that was likely to be the case raised by Beagle against his former manager in 2015 for elder abuse and fraud.

As of March 2021, Beagle has won his case and regained the rights to The Last Unicorn as well as all future projects based on any of his current or upcoming novels and written works. While the Beagleverse website mentions the ruling and points out that some sites are still under operation by Beagle’s former manager, the site is clear that it is the official place for all news of upcoming projects such as The Last Unicorn.