Disney has hired actor-writer Danny Strong to write the script for their remake of Oliver!. The film is set to be directed by Hamilton’s Thomas Kail. It is unknown if the musical will use the songs from the musical or if it will create new ones. Ice Cube is set to portray Fagin.
Strong is an actor who appeared in such series as Clueless, Gilmore Girls, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. His screenwriting work includes The Hungergames: Mockingjay and Fox’s Empire.
This is not the first time Disney is making a musical based on Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist. In 1988, Disney Animation released Oliver & Company which set the story in New York instead of England, and featured animals instead of children. In that version Dom DeLuise played the part of Fagin.