The Sound of Music

The Sound of Music is an upcoming 2025 live-action musical film directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Tony Kushner. It is an adaptation of the 1959 Broadway musical of the same name and a remake of the 1965 live-action film adaptation of the same name, both of which were inspired by The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp. It will be released on May 23, 2025, by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures under the 20th Century Studios banner.

Synopsis
The film will attempt to return to the roots of the original 1959 Broadway version instead of the 1965 film adaptation. A young Austrian postulant in Salzburg, Austria is sent to the villa of a retired naval officer and widower to be governess to his seven children.

Plot
Maria is a free-spirited young Austrian woman studying to become a nun at Nonnberg Abbey in Salzburg in 1938. Her youthful enthusiasm and lack of discipline cause some concern. The Mother Abbess sends Maria to the villa of retired naval officer Captain Georg von Trapp to be governess to his seven children—Liesl, Friedrich, Louisa, Kurt, Brigitta, Marta, and Gretl. The Captain has been raising his children alone using strict military discipline following the death of his wife. Although the children misbehave at first, Maria responds with kindness and patience, and soon the children come to trust and respect her.

While the Captain is away in Vienna, Maria makes play clothes for the children from drapes which are to be changed. She takes them around Salzburg and the surrounding mountains, and she teaches them how to sing. When the Captain returns to the villa with Baroness Elsa Schraeder, a wealthy socialite, and their mutual friend, "Uncle" Max Detweiler, they are greeted by Maria and the children returning from a boat ride on the lake that concludes when their boat overturns. Displeased by his children's clothes and activities, and Maria's impassioned appeal that he get closer to his children, the Captain orders her to return to the abbey. Just then he hears singing coming from inside the house and is astonished to see his children singing for the Baroness. Filled with emotion, the Captain joins his children, singing for the first time in years. He apologizes to Maria and asks her to stay.

Impressed by the children's singing, Max proposes he enter them in the upcoming Salzburg Festival but the suggestion is immediately rejected by the Captain as he does not allow his children to sing in public. He does agree, however, to organize a grand party at the villa. The night of the party, while guests in formal attire waltz in the ballroom, Maria and the children look on from the garden terrace. When the Captain notices Maria teaching Kurt the traditional Ländler folk dance, he steps in and partners Maria in a graceful performance, culminating in a close embrace. Confused about her feelings, Maria blushes and breaks away. Later, the Baroness, who noticed the Captain's attraction to Maria, hides her jealousy by indirectly convincing Maria that she must return to the abbey. Back at the abbey, when Mother Abbess learns that Maria has stayed in seclusion to avoid her feelings for the Captain, she encourages her to return to the villa to look for her life. After Maria returns to the villa, she learns about the Captain's engagement to the Baroness and agrees to stay until they find a replacement governess. The Captain's feelings for Maria, however, have not changed, and after breaking off his engagement the Captain marries Maria.

While they are on their honeymoon, Max enters the children in the Salzburg Festival against their father's wishes. When they learn that Austria has been annexed by the Third Reich in the Anschluss, the couple return to their home, where a telegram awaits informing the Captain that he must report to the German Naval base at Bremerhaven to accept a commission in the German Navy. Strongly opposed to the Nazis and the Anschluss, the Captain tells his family they must leave Austria immediately. That night, the von Trapp family attempt to flee to Switzerland, but they are stopped by a group of Brownshirts waiting outside the villa. When questioned by Gauleiter Hans Zeller, the Captain maintains they are headed to the Salzburg Festival to perform. Zeller insists on escorting them to the festival, after which his men will accompany the Captain to Bremerhaven.

Later that night at the festival, during their final number, the von Trapp family slip away and seek shelter at the nearby abbey, where Mother Abbess hides them in the cemetery crypt. Brownshirts soon arrive and search the abbey, but the family is able to escape using the caretaker's car. When the soldiers attempt to pursue, they discover their cars will not start as two nuns have removed parts of the engines. The next morning, after driving to the Swiss border, the von Trapp family make their way on foot across the frontier into Switzerland to safety and freedom.

Cast

 * Emily Blunt as Maria Von Trapp
 * Hugh Jackman as Captain Von Trapp
 * Nicole Kidman as Baroness Elsa von Schraeder
 * Colin Firth as Max Detweiler
 * Meryl Streep as Mother Abbess
 * Saoirse Ronan as Liesl von Trapp
 * Dylan Minnette as Friedrich von Trapp
 * Sophia Lillis as Louisa von Trapp
 * Roman Griffin Davis as Kurt von Trapp
 * Millie Bobby Brown as Brigitta von Trapp
 * Raegan Revord as Marta von Trapp
 * Fifi Hart as Gretl von Trapp

Music
The soundtrack album will be released digitally in Dolby Atmos by Hollywood Records on May 16, 2025. It will also be released on physical CD on May 23, 2025, the same day as the film.

Trivia

 * The film will mark the second time Steven Spielberg directs a musical film after West Side Story.
 * The film will be released in 2025, which marks the 60th anniversary of the original 1965 film adaptation.