With Aladdin behind them and The Lion King arriving next week, Disney are pressing ahead with their endless stream of live-action (or CGI) remakes of their classic animated movies. We’ve previously brought you the news that the studio is working on a new Hercules, possibly with Alexander Skarsgard in the lead, and now we’ve got some info on their upcoming revamp of The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Deadline reported at the beginning of the year that Disney was developing the remake, to be titled simply Hunchback, with Josh Gad attached as producer. This led many to theorize that the Beauty and the Beast actor may also play the lead. Well, We Got This Covered has been told that this is indeed the likely scenario.
On the other hand, we’ve also heard who Disney is eyeing for another key role: Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is being considered for the part of Captain Phoebus. In the 1997 animated film, Phoebus – ally to Quasimodo and love interest of Esmeralda – was voiced by Kevin Kline. Coster-Waldau would certainly be a good fit for a tougher iteration of the character, perhaps slightly closer to the darker version from the original novel and other adaptations.
We haven’t got hold of any other names at present, though, so it’s anyone’s guess as to who Disney is looking at for Esmeralda and the villain of the piece, Judge Frollo. Social media has often pointed to Gal Gadot being a good fit for the former, but others are hoping that a Romani actress is cast in the part, seeing as Esmeralda’s ethnicity is key to her character in the original.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. For now, you can catch The Lion King in cinemas from July 19th, with Mulan being the next remake to drop on March 27th, 2020.
Tell us, though, are you interested in a new Hunchback of Notre Dame? Have your say in the comments section below.
