Posted by | Ray Cornelius
Iconic hip hop star Ice Cube is teaming up with “Hamilton” director Thomas Kail for a Disney remake of the classic children’s story, “Oliver Twist.”
According to THR, “Empire” co-creator Danny Strong will write the script for the modern, musical take on the Charles Dickens‘ story. Kail will serve as the project’s director and Cube is taking on the role of Fagin. He is also producing the film as well.
“Oliver Twist” tells the story of an orphan boy who moves from a life as an exploited child laborer to being under the wings of Fagin, a leader of a gang of London pickpockets. Hardship, murder and secrets waiting to be revealed follow the boy.
While I’m not sure how “modern” this remake will be, I can’t help but think of the Debbie Allen directed musical, “Twist” that I saw back in 2010. The show debuted at Atlanta’s Alliance Theatre and was written by William F. Brown, the author of “The Wiz.” “Twist” centered on an African-American character from New Orleans and featured some a-maz-ing music from award winning songwriter Tena Clark.
RC will keep you in the loop as this project continues to develop.
Photo Credit: RayCornelius.com
