Like them or not, Green Day is a staple in today's modern rock culture. With 8 studio albums, the latest being "21st Century Breakdown", Green Day have carved a their place in music history. So it comes as no surprise that their most ambitious effort to date "American Idiot" garnered the attention of people in other various forms of entertainment looking to capitalize on the albums success. One such man is Michael Mayer, who created the smash broadway hit 'Spring Awakening', will be bringing 'American Idiot: The Musical' to the stage this summer as well. But, the attention doesn't end there. Deadline is now reporting that Mayer's 'American Idiot: The Musical' will be headed to the big screen soon as well...

Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions (the team behind MAMA MIA) is reportedly interested in bringing the musical to theaters. The musical will take the basic story outlined in "American Idiot" and breath more live into the characters behind the songs. The story is as follows...

"[American Idiot:The Musical] is a  coming-of-age story of three small-town guys: one joins the armed forces, another moves to the city and gets lost in drugs, and the third stays home and gets his girlfriend pregnant."

As a long-time fan of Green Day I can tell you that this project has been a long time coming and I, for one, could not be more excited! The band opened themselves to a lot of criticism when they took their punk tone to a new level and released "American Idiot" in 2004. Since then, Green Day's fans have divided between the "Basket Cases" and the "American Idiots". I love it all! "American Idiot" is ripe for a screen adaptation and hopefully it will also open the doors for more band-based musicals.

What are your thoughts? Is this just another step towards Green Day's sell out conquest OR does it breath new life into the musical genre of film?

Source: First Showing