Idris Elba is planning to "reinvent" ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ with his own unique twist on the story.
The ‘Yardie’ filmmaker will be at the helm of the blockbuster – based on Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel of the same name – while he is also lined up to star as Quasimodo and work on the music for the flick, which will be produced under his Green Door company, and he is excited for the challenge.
He told Empire magazine: "The film at the moment lives entirely in my brain. I’m very fortunate to have a classic tale to reinvent. So now it’s about how I execute it.
"I’m definitely taking on more than I’ve ever taken on in any other project, with the hats that I’m wearing. But, hey, man, that’s why I’m here. I’m an entertainer, right? I liken it to an athlete being asked to do a triathlon: okay, show me what you really got."
The actor and DJ will provide original music for the Netflix project, which has been described as a "sonic and musical experience".
The script will be penned by Michael Mitnick, who was the writer behind ‘The Current War’ and ‘The Giver’.
The novel has been adapted for stage and screen a number of times over the years, most famously in 1923 when the character became part of Lon Chaney’s Universal Monsters repertoire.
In 1996 Disney gave Quasimodo a friendly makeover in a musical animation movie.
Idris recently appeared on the small screen in Sky 1 comedy ‘In The Long Run’, which was based loosely around his late real-life father Winston.
Idris, 45, wanted to tackle the casual racism he experienced after moving from Hackney to London’s white-working class area of Canning Town in the 80s as a teenager.
Idris Elba will ‘redefine’ Hunchback of Notre Dame
