Nope, he probably won’t be the next James Bond, but apparently, Idris Elba is ready to be a cat…again.
According to Variety, Elba is lining up to star in the upcoming film adaptation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, “Cats.” The legendary Broadway show that played for more than two decades is making the jump to the big screen courtesy of Academy Award-winning filmmaker Tom Hooper.
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As alluded to earlier, this isn’t the first go-round for Elba playing a feline character. Back in 2016, the actor famously voiced Shere Khan in Jon Favreau’s remake of “The Jungle Book.” Of course, “Cats” is a different animal altogether. The new film tells the story of a tribe of cats the night of the Jellicle Ball, in which the cats will decide which of their tribe will go to the Heaviside Layer and be reborn as a new Jellicle.
Elba joins the already-stacked cast of popstar Taylor Swift, Ian McKellen, James Corden, and Jennifer Hudson. The report says that Elba will play the character known as Macavity in the film adaptation.
READ MORE: Taylor Swift, Jennifer Hudson, Ian McKellan & More Join Tom Hooper’s ‘Cats’ Adaptation
Before the acclaimed actor can don the cat ears, he’ll have to finish work on the upcoming “Fast and Furious” spin-off “Hobbs and Shaw,” which is currently in production. In that film, Elba plays the villain that is pitted against the returning titular heroes played by Jason Statham and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Production has yet to begin on “Cats,” but the film is already slated to be a big holiday season contender next year when it hits theaters on December 20, 2019.
Until then, check out this behind-the-scenes picture of the actor in action in the upcoming “Hobbs and Shaw”:
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