I guess someone, somewhere has been thinking “Please sir, I want some moreOliver Twist,” because the folks over at Disney have teamed up withIce CubeandHamiltondirectorTommy Kailfor a modernized musical take on theCharles Dickensclassic.
Cube will produce alongsideJeff Kwantinetz(Barbershop: The Next Cut) and veteran movie producerMarc Platt, who’s behind a number of movie musical adaptations; most recently,Into the Woods,La La Land, and the upcomingMary Poppins Returns. Platt is also the producer behind the Broadway sensationWicked, which is finally set to receive a movie adaptation at Universal.
This is just the latest of many, many adaptations from Dickens' beloved story about an impoverished orphan boy struggling to make good on the streets of Victorian London, the most notalbe recent addition coming fromRoman Polanski’s 2005 incarnation. Disney themselves previously adapted the tale withGeorge Scribner’s 1988Oliver and Company, along with countless film iterations over the decades. The story was also adapted to the stage forLionel Bart’s regularly-revivedOliver!, which premiered on the West End in 1960 before debuting on Broadway in 1963.
For the new iteration, Cube and Kwantinetz will write the treatment for a modernized musical, whichTHRdescribes as “crossing many genres, including hip-hop.” Cube is also attached to play the character of Fagin, the antagonistic master crook who recruits Oliver into his gang of pickpocketers. As a director, Kail earned a Tony award for his work onLin-Manuel Miranda’sHamiltonand two Emmys (one of which he shares with Platt) for his work on the televised hitGrease Live!.
Ice Cube had a major success last year with the breakout hitStraight Outta Compton,which chronicled the rise and fall of the legendary hip-hop group N.W.A. He’s slated to appear next alongsideCharlie Dayin the comedyFist Fight, and has another installment of his comedy franchiseRide Alongin the works.
