Idris Elba will join the likes of Ian McKellen and Taylor Swift in a film adaptation of the hit stage musical Cats.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Thor: Ragnarok actor is in negotiations to play master criminal Macavity in the production, which also stars Jennifer Hudson and James Corden. It will be helmed by Tom Hooper, the director behind Les Miserables, The King's Speech, and The Danish Girl.
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A musical by the prolific Andrew Lloyd Weber, Cats was the longest-running show on Broadway from 1997 to 2006, and is the fourth longest-running of all time. The story is about a group of cats called Jellicles who, one night, have to decide in a ceremonial "Jellicle Choice" which of them goes to a place called The Heaviside Layer and gains new life.
The film is expected to begin production later this year in the United Kingdom, for release on Dec. 20, 2019. Universal Pictures and Working Title are behind the feature.
Known especially for action thrillers, Elba is currently working on Hobbs & Shaw, a spinoff of The Fast and the Furious.