Ever the showman,
Hugh Jackman is
being strongly linked with Universal and The King's Speech director
Tom Hooper's new take on the long-running musical version of
Victor Hugos classic novel
Les Miserables. Jackman would presumably take on the lead role of Jean Valjean, an escaped and reformed prisoner who is struggling to survive during the French revolution and it's a predictable career move for the Broadway regular who has starred in Oklahoma!, danced and sang through his Oscar hosting gig and starred as a magician for Christopher Nolan in The Prestige. But just because it's predictable, doesn't make it any less a fit for the actor and well he's been desperate to do something like this for so long.
Deadline also say
Paul Bettany, who simply must be kicking himself for turning down the lead role in The King's Speech (because he wanted to spend time with his family... oops) which Colin Firth would go on to win an Oscar for, is not ready to make the same mistake again, this time accepting Hooper's advances over the role of police Inspector Javert, the arch nemesis of Jackman's Valjean. We are been told no offers and no talks have taken place yet between Universal and Bettany/Jackman but we do know at least Bettany has read for the part and sang the songs for the studio. Speaking of Bettany, Hooper is seemingly a fan of the actor who has been in genre film purgatory for the last few years with turns in Priest and Legion and must be thankful that an offer for such a high profile gig has come his way. We've heard before that the movie would be a "full-blown musical adaptation of the Cameron Mackintosh-produced perennial stage hit with Mackintosh producing the big screen film which will adopt
Claude-Michel Schonbergs famous original theatre score. Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Gladiator writer
William Nicholson has wrote the script. Filming is set to take place in Europe later this year and I imagine Jackman's deal will come down to scheduling and whether it will overlap with
The Wolverine, which
we've just heard will be directed by James Mangold. Bettany's is probably a done deal...