Sir Ian McKellen and James Corden will be among the actors pulling on catsuits, as the legendary musical Cats is turned into a movie.
Deadline reports the peer of the realm and his talk show host subject will star in the film, alongside singing superstars Jennifer Hudson and Taylor Swift.
Jennifer will reportedly play Grizabella, the “glamor cat” who’s seen better days, played by Elaine Page in the original 1981 West End production. (Fun fact: Elaine stepped in to play what became her most famous role when Dame Judi Dench snapped her tendon in dance rehearsals. Imagine that version.)
It’s not yet known who Sir Ian, James and Taylor will play, though with so many feline characters to choose from, the possibilities are endless. Written by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber and Trevor Nunn, Cats was based on Old Possum’s Book Of Practical Cats by the poet T. S. Eliot, which featured a host of tabby, marmalade, ginger and Siamese cats, with names such as The Rum Tum Tugger, tricky Mr Mistoffelees, mystery cat Macavity, cat about town Bustopher Jones, Jennyandthedots and The Old Gumbie Cat.
Speculation is rife, but some pundits believe Sir Ian may play Gus the theater cat, who’s described as “old and frail,” but is revered by the other cats for his long career as an actor.
As for James, he’s never made a secret of the fact that he loves musicals, going so far as to perform them during his stint as the host of the Tony Awards in 2017. Recently, he even led a rendition of “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats” dressed as Rum Tum Tigger on the streets of London, as the musical’s creator Andrew Lloyd Webber watched.
We assumed it was simply another installment of “Crosswalk the Musical,” but perhaps it was, in fact, his audition:
The film looks set to be every bit as good as the recent big-screen version of Les Misérables, which was helmed by Tom Hooper while Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall penned the screenplay.
All together now: Mi-aow!
Are you excited to see this version?