How Anyone But You Adapts Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing Explained

anyone but you much ado about nothing
Credit: Sony Pictures

anyone but you much ado about nothing
Credit: Sony Pictures

While the Anyone But You movie strives to combine two rising stars, Euphoria's Sydney Sweeney and Top Gun: Maverick's Glen Powell, most fans may have overlooked one key detail from the trailer. Here's how Anyone But You adapted Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare.

How Anyone But You Adapts the Shakespeare Classic

anyone but you much ado about nothing
expand image
Credit: Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures' Anyone But You wants to depict the classic Shakespeare story of Much Ado About Nothing.

Considering that we'll be seeing a classic enemies-to-lovers trope along with coming up with a fake relationship between Sweeney and Powell, Anyone But You being a trademark of Much Ado About Nothing is no coincidence at all.

If anything, film director Will Gluck incorporated it.

The Brief Tale of Much Ado About Nothing

William Shakespeare's plays are filled with comedy, even if romance is central to the storyline.

But the thing about Much Ado About Nothing is that the main characters being 'tricked' in the story are named Benedick and Beatrice. Sound familiar?

These are the same names used in Anyone But You. Here's where they get entangled in the story that the film is based on: Benedick is a gentleman soldier who seems to have been in common dispute with the governor Leonato's niece, Beatrice.

Despite their hatred towards one another, the people around them were convinced they were meant to be together.

And so, they have decided to trick Benedick and Beatrice into thinking they have been in love with each other the entire time. Get the picture?

READ MORE: Where to Watch Sneak Film Previews of Anyone But You

Inspiration Behind Much Ado About Nothing Explained

Gluck recently told Multiverse of Color that, as a fan of iconic modern storytelling in films, he couldn't resist dropping easter eggs about Shakespeare's plays in Anyone But You:

"I swear to god, I must have reread [Much Ado About Nothing] 50 times during the editing of this movie to find an actual quote and see if it worked. It took a lot of time to pull, and you're probably the only one that's ever going to realize that the first line is not from Much Ado About Nothing. You would also be kind of shocked to hear that over 70% of people have no idea where those quotes are from."

It is worth mentioning that this is not Gluck's first time transforming classic literature into modern films.

A previous prominent work of his was Emma Stone's Easy A movie, which was based on The Scarlet Letter novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Meanwhile, the official synopsis for Sony's Anyone But You film reads:

In the edgy comedy Anyone But You, Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) look like the perfect couple, but after an amazing first date something happens that turns their fiery hot attraction ice cold - until they find themselves unexpectedly thrust together at a destination wedding in Australia. So they do what any two mature adults would do: pretend to be a couple.

Interested in more Geek Culture news stories and updates? Check out more right here on EpicStream!

READ NEXT: Meet Alexandra Shipp From Anyone But You, Who Plays Claudia