'Dynasty,' the Movie: Who Will Play Whom?

Jan. 14, 2011 — -- "Dynasty" is coming back, and like Joan Collins' shoulder pads, it's going to be bigger than ever.

This week, the creators of the iconic 1980s television series confirmed that they're wrapping up the script for a "Dynasty" movie due to hit theaters in 2012. While a handful of specials and reunions tied up the loose ends left hanging when "Dynasty" went off the air in 1989, with the film version, Richard and Esther Shapiro want to do something completely different. (Hint: They were inspired by the latest "Star Wars" installment -- the format, not the intergalactic warfare.)

"Everybody has wanted to know about the beginning," Richard Shapiro said. "During the course of all of 'Dynasty,' Alexis was in love with Blake, and obviously, there was a time when he was in love with her. That is the center focus of this film, the Blake and Alexis love story."

"One of our highest rated shows was the episode that had a dream sequence that went back to when Blake was with Alexis," Esther Shapiro, Richard's wife, added. "It was one of our highest rated shows. In this movie, what we're going to try to do is address a lot of the questions the fans had over the years."

Set in 1961, the "Dynasty" movie will follow Blake Carrington's character as he slips into the world of privilege inhabited by his first wife, Alexis Carrington.

"In that day, the elite class did what it wanted," Richard Shapiro said. "It had no rules. To watch Blake, a very straight shooter, step into that world -- it's fascinating to us and we hope it will be to the audience."

The Shapiros, who are developing the movie with their daughter, Florie Savage, have yet to cast the roles of Blake (the late John Forsythe) and Alexis (Collins), But Esther knows what she wants.

"John Forsythe, he's got to be blond and beautiful with blue eyes," she said. [Ed. note: Chace Crawford, Chad Michael Murray, Ryan Gosling, Channing Tatum -- are you listening?] "Someone who can play him at 25 or 26 years old. Young Alexis, she's going to have to be between 17 and 22 years old in terms of the way it's written. That's what the actress will have to play. Does she have to be English? Well, it would be nice if she were, or if she could affect an English accent." [Ed. note: Leighton Meester, Mila Kunis, Anne Hathaway, Rachel Bilson -- heads up.]

What about Krystle, Blake's second wife, played by Linda Evans in the TV series -- will the doe-eyed blond make an appearance in the film? Possibly -- and the rest of "Dynasty's" characters may as well.

"Our intention is, if this works, to and make this a franchise because people want to see the others," Richard Shapiro said. "People are asking about Krystle and so forth. At the particular time, when we're setting this film, Krystle would be about 14 years old. We may run into her briefly and anticipate that we'll see her again in the future."

As for Evans, Collins and other members of the show's cast, the Shapiros doubt they'll make an appearance in the first "Dynasty" movie. That said, they're not ruling out a reunion after they push out the prequels.

"It would be a distraction to have any of them in the movie at this point," Richard Shapiro said. "Our hope is that we do this franchise, fill in the missing holes, and then finally do an epilogue where they come back."

So, the legendary on-screen rivalry between Collins and Evans won't hit the big screen just yet. But, Esther said, "Dynasty" fans can expect more hair-pulling, name-calling and back-stabbing than they ever saw on TV.

"We don't have censorship the way that we did on television," she said. There aren't as many restrictions. This is going to be a lot of fun."