The hit film Oliver is reportedly the latest classic to undergo a remake with bosses desperate to make it a success after the last rehash.
Back in 2021, Sky was slammed for their adaptation of the fan favourite Charles Dickens novel, titled Twist and starring popstar Rita Ora.
However now theatre producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh is reportedly working on the project, with huge stars including Paul Mescal and Florence Pugh in line for key roles.
A source told The Sun: ‘Sir Cameron is really keen for a new version of Oliver! to finally happen.
‘It’s early days but talks are very much ongoing. At the centre of them is the feeling that if it’s done, it must be done right.
‘The last thing anyone wants is the classic film to be tarnished by a woke Hollywood remake. The less said about Sky’s Twist, the better.’
The hit film Oliver is reportedly the latest classic to undergo a remake with bosses desperate to make it a success after the last rehash (Ron Moody pictured in the original in 1968)
Back in 2021, Sky was slammed for their adaptation of the fan favourite Charles Dickens novel, titled Twist and starring popstar Rita Ora (pictured with Rafferty Law)
Daily Mail have contacted Cameron’s representatives for comment.
Critics didn’t take too kindly to the last remake, directed by Martin Owen, which received 1 our of 5 stars in a review by the Daily Mail’s Brian Viner.
Describing Twist as a film that ‘deserves to be buried under great mounds of earth, and not unearthed for at least 1,500 years’, he concluded: ‘I’d Do Anything to be able to forget all about it.’
Rita starred as Dodge, a gender-switched version of the Artful Dodger in the adaptation, which saw Rafferty Law in the titular role.
Despite being panned by critics, Rita suggested Charles Dickens would have been a fan of her modernised take on his classic Oliver Twist tale.
She said: ‘I think that this would be what Charles Dickens would have probably done if – it was, what, 1839 when Oliver Twist came out for the first time. It was his interpretation of street slang and life on the streets.
‘For us now, shooting it in this time, it’s our interpretation of life on the street. So, I really love that I was a part of that progression.’
Meanwhile the musical adaptation has also received some controversy after the London’s Gielgud Theatre put a trigger warning on the latest production back in February.
Ttheatre producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh is reportedly working on the project, with huge stars including Paul Mescal (L) and Florence Pugh (R) in line for key roles
A source said: ‘Sir Cameron is really keen for a new version of Oliver! to finally happen. ‘It’s early days but talks are very much ongoing’ (Cameron pictured in 2024)
Meanwhile the musical adaptation has also received some controversy after the London’s Gielgud Theatre put a trigger warning on the latest production back in February (Jack Wild pictured in the 1968 film)
Oliver! tells the story of a boy who escapes an orphanage only to end up in the clutches of ruthless London criminals.
And the musical is famous for scenes including when Oliver is physically punished in the orphanage for seeking a second helping of food, asking ‘Please Sir, I want some more’, along with iconic songs such as Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, and You’ve Got to Pick a Pocket or Two.
The website for the current West End production alerts audiences to depictions of crime, ‘discriminatory’ language, violence and hunger.
Under a section headlined ‘content advisory’, it states: ‘True to Dickens’ novel, the script contains some mild and discriminatory language reflective of the period; depictions of violence towards men, women and children including gunshots; and themes of poverty, hunger and crime in Victorian society.’
The show is billed as being ‘unsuitable’ for under-7s – and there is also an alert for ‘gunfire and smoke’.
