Ice Cube is set to play Fagin in an upcoming Oliver Twist musical from Walt Disney Pictures. The Hollywood Reporter has the news, bringing word that the project will adapt the Charles Dickens classic as a contemporary tale with Hamilton director Thomas Kail at the helm.
Dickens’ second novel, Oliver Twist originally ran in a serialized form beginning in 1837. The story of a young orphan, the book follows the exploits of the title character as he joins a group of London child pickpockets, led by an adult criminal called Fagin.
Oliver Twist has been adapted time and again for the big screen with films over the decades directed by the likes of David Lean, Roman Polanski and Carol Reed. Reed’s 1968 version, Oliver!, was itself a big-screen take on a popular Oliver Twist musical that debuted in London’s West End earlier that decade. In fact, Disney previously released a contemporary Oliver Twist musical in 1988 with Walt Disney Animation Studio‘s 27th feature film, Oliver & Company. That film recast the orphan as a stray cat with a still-human Fagin voiced by Dom DeLuise.
Wicked producer Marc Platt and The Firm’s Jeff Kwatinetz are attached to produce the new Oliver Twist musical alongside Cube. Kwantinetz is also working with the actor to provide the film’s treatment.
Ice Cube starred earlier this year in the franchise sequels Ride Along 2 and Barbershop: The Next Cut. He’ll soon star opposite Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) in the New Line comedy Fist Fight, in theaters February 17.
