Idris Elba is in finishing up his negotiations to join the cast of the film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats.
Tom Hooper will helm the star-studded flick, likewise featuring Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, James Corden, and Taylor Swift.
This denotes Elba’s second catlike job following his interpretation of Shere Khan in 2016’s, The Jungle Book.
The Universal Pictures epic, which hits theaters on Dec. 20, will be delivered by Hooper and Working Title’s Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner, and in addition fellow Les Misérables producer, Debra Hayward — who conveyed the plan to Working Title. Cats will be delivered by Working Title Films in relationship with Monumental Pictures and The Really Useful Group, and executive produced by Steven Spielberg, Lloyd Webber, and Angela Morrison.
Cats, one of the longest-running shows in West End and Broadway history — in view of T.S. Eliot’s, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats — world debuted at the New London Theater in 1981, where it played for 21 record-breaking years. The earth shattering creation was the victor of the Olivier and Evening Standard Theater grants for best melodic. In 1983, the Broadway generation won seven Tonys, including best musical, and ran for 18 years.
Elba is presently taping Hobbs and Shaw with Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, and can next be found in the Netflix comedy drama series, Turn Up Charlie, which he additionally co-produced and executive produced. He returns one year from now to his featuring job in the hit BBC series, Luther, which he also executive produces.
