Warner Bros. Develops You’ve Got Mail Reboot

Warner Bros. is developing a new version of the 1998 romantic comedy You’ve Got Mail, with Jason Orley attached to direct and write the current screenplay draft. The project’s plot details, casting and release date have not been announced.

Orley’s script is based on an earlier screenplay by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. The film’s reported development has been described as a new take on the original, but the story’s specific setting and how it will be adapted have not been confirmed across the reporting. One account says it will be set in modern times; other reports do not specify a setting.

The original film, directed by Nora Ephron, starred Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan as Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly. Joe runs a large bookstore chain whose new location threatens Kathleen’s independent children’s bookshop. Unaware of each other’s identities, the rivals form an online romance through anonymous correspondence.

You’ve Got Mail was released in 1998 and drew on the 1937 play Parfumerie by Miklós László. The play’s story had previously been adapted as the 1940 film The Shop Around the Corner. The original film’s romance hinged on email and online messaging, elements that were central to...