Today marks the 15th anniversary of My Chemical Romance's 2006 landmark album, The Black Parade. In honor of the milestone, frontman Gerard Way spoke with Travis Mills on Apple Music 1 about the record's legacy.
Way was asked about the possibility of The Black Parade being adapted into a musical, à la Green Day's American Idiot. As Way explained, that idea has been floating around for some time, though he's only recently come around to it.
"There was talks very early about some kind of animated musical," Way shared. "Then there was talks a decade or so later about a musical. But the person who approached me about this musical there said, 'Are you ever interested in doing Black Parade as a musical?' I was like, 'To be honest with you, I think it's too soon,' at the time. I was like, 'I don't think the record has lived long enough.'"
Way remembered thinking that he wanted "to see if the record really stands the test of time."
"Then I think something like a musical could be very exciting," he said. "But it felt a little too young at the time to do something like a musical."
Now, however, Way said he's "open" to the idea.
"The Black Parade itself, just from all the art and the videos and the inside photographs, it really is this kind of massive world," Way said. "I think within that you could do a number of things. There's all kinds of different characters to explore. I mean, you could even end up with a totally different protagonist."
Whether or not a Black Parade musical becomes a reality, MCR will be bringing songs from the album to the live stage on their much-anticipated reunion tour, set to finally kick off in 2022 after being postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.