Danny Strong, co-creator of Empire and an Emmy winner for HBO's Game Change, has been tapped to write the screenplay for Disney’s upcoming remake of Oliver!, according to Deadline.
As previously reported, Hamilton Tony winner Thomas Kail will direct, with Marc Platt, Ice Cube, and Jeff Kwatinetz producing. At the time of the initial announcement, however, the project was just slated to be a new adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel and was not affiliated with the 1963 musical, which was later adapted into an Oscar-winning Best Picture.
Ice Cube is also set to play Fagin in the new take on the Lionel Bart musical, which features such showtunes as "As Long As He Needs Me," "Where Is Love," and "Consider Yourself." No additional details, including a production timeline or further casting, have been announced.
Strong is also at work on a new adaptation of the musical Chess, which will premiere at Washington, D.C.’s Kennedy Center in February. His numerous additional writing credits include The Butler, Rebel in the Rye (which he also directed), and both parts of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay. He is also known for his performance as Doyle on Gilmore Girls.
Read: RAÚL ESPARZA, RAMIN KARIMLOO, RUTHIE ANN MILES, KAREN OLIVO SET FOR NEW CHESS