Rapper and actor Ice Cube is set to portray Fagin in a new musical adaptation of Charles Dickens's classic novel Oliver Twist. The former NWA star will also co-produce the film, which is being developed by Disney.
The project will be directed by Thomas Kail, who won a Tony award for directing the Broadway hit Hamilton. This will mark Kail's feature film directorial debut. According to the Hollywood Reporter, the film will offer a modern take on the story, incorporating various musical genres, including hip-hop.
Oliver Twist follows an orphan who joins a gang of pickpockets in Victorian London, led by the villainous Fagin. The story was previously adapted into a stage musical in 1960 and a successful 1968 film that won five Oscars, including Best Picture. Disney also produced an animated version in 1988, Oliver & Company, featuring cats and dogs as the main characters.
Ice Cube, who rose to fame with NWA and was portrayed in the biopic Straight Outta Compton, is also set to play Ebenezer Scrooge in an upcoming adaptation of A Christmas Carol.
