Taylor Swift, James Corden, Sir Ian McKellen and Jennifer Hudson are to star in a movie remake of the musical ‘Cats’.
The ‘Delicate’ hitmaker, ‘The Late Late Show’ host, ‘Lord of the Rings’ actor and ‘Spotlight’ singer lead the all-star cast for the new adaptation of Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber’s award-winning musical based on ‘Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats’ by T. S. Eliot, Variety reports.
Jennifer – who won an Oscar in 2007 for her breakout role in ‘Dreamgirls’ – is set to take on the prominent role of Grizabella, also known as ‘The Glamour Cat’, and will be lending her powerhouse vocals of the musical’s standard ‘Memory’.
Taylor, James and Ian’s characters are being kept under wraps for the time being.
Other parts up for grabs include Old Deuteronomy, Macavity, Skimbleshanks and the Rum Tum Tugger.
‘The King’s Speech’ helmer Tom Hooper is set to direct with the help of screenwriter Lee Hall (‘Billy Eliot).
The team behind 2012’s ‘Les Miserables’ will produce the film alongside Tom.
According to Deadline.com, Tom has been hard at work on the film adaptation for two years and they are set to commence filming later this year.
Taylor has the least big screen experience, but she appeared alongside Hollywood legends Meryl Streep, Jeff Bridges and Katie Holmes in 2014’s ‘The Giver’ as Rosemary.
Ian is a veteran of theatre and film, with six Laurence Olivier Awards to his name.
Whilst James adds to his movie career which has already seen him star in nab parts in ‘Ocean’s 8’, ‘Peter Rabbit’ and ‘Into The Woods’.
‘Cats’ was first performed in 1981, and follows the tale of a tribe of felines named Jellicles, who have to decide which of them should go to the mystical Heaviside Layer to be reborn.
The much-loved musical is the sixth longest-running show in West End history, and fourth longest in Broadway history.