Judi Dench & Idris Elba Join The Insanely Star-Studded Cast Of ‘Cats’

Judi Dench, Idris Elba - Getty Images

Back in July, it was announced that Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s renowned musical Cats would be copping a film adaptation.

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Right off the bat a couple of y’huge names in the business like Jennifer Hudson, Sir Ian McKellen, Taylor Swift, and James Corden were all locked in to star in the film.

Now, two more ginormous names have been added to the cast.

Dame Judi Dench and Idris Elba. 

Elba joined the cast earlier this week in the role of bad cat Macavity. Dench is set to play wise and respected Deuteronomy – originally played by a man, Deadline reports.

In the way that life goes, Dench was supposed to star in the original West End production in 1981 but unfortunately ruptured her Achilles Tendon so she had to pull out.

‘Cos the big names are never-ending, Tom Hooper will helm the film. On his CV, Hooper’s got the multi-Academy Award winning and nominated The King’s Speech and Les Misérables. 

If that’s any indication, Cats will probably follow in its footsteps – or at least cop the ~ Oscar talk ~.

Oh, and the musical has been adapted by Lee Hall, the screenwriter of Billy Elliot. 

If you’re not too familiar with Cats, it’s a musical based on T.S. Eliot‘s book Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. You have a group of cats called the Jellicles and you have a very important night known as the Jellicle Choice. Each year on this important night, the wise leader Deuteronomy decides which cat goes to the Heaviside Layer to be reborn.

Hudson is reportedly stepping into the role of Grizabella, the one who sings the award-winning song ‘Memory’. 

Makes sense.

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