Director Thomas Hooper is going to be following up his Oscar win for The King’s Speech with a big screen adaptation of the musical Les Misérables aka “Les Miz” for Working Title and Universal Pictures, and according to The Hollywood Reporter, actor Hugh Jackman will be headlining it, playing Jean Valjean.
Based on Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel, the hit Broadway musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg opened in 1985, beginning one of the longest runs for a musical ever. Set against the backdrop of the 19th Century French rebellion, Jackman’s character is a man who ends up in jail after stealing bread to feed his sister and ends up becoming the guardian of a young woman named Cosette. It’s been adapted for the screen by William Nicholson.
The movie would be the first time that Jackman, who has sung and danced on Broadway in his Tony-winning role in “The Boy From Oz” as well as host of the Oscars and Tonys, would perform in that capacity on screen.
