Good news, Elbarians! And also new converts of the Elbarian sauce. According to reports, Hollywood bae Idris Elba has signed up for his most ambitious undertaking yet, as he will star in, direct and produce a modern-day retelling of the classic 19th Century Victor Hugo novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame.
The 45-year-old actor will also produce original music for the project, which has found a home on popular streaming service Netflix. Having first worked as a DJ before becoming an actor – and then unveiling his movie directorial debut this year with Yardie – Elba has already proved that he’s multifaceted, not to mention his stellar turns on BBC’s Luther and Disney’s Thor series.
The feature, which has been described as a “sonic and musical experience,” will see Elba take on the titular role of Quasimodo, a hunchback who falls in love with charismatic dancer Esmeralda. If, by any chance, you aren’t familiar with Quasimodo, here’s what he looks like. And yes, he has a literal hunchback.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame was famously adapted into an animated film by Disney in the mid ’90s, featuring the voices of a host of stars like Demi Moore, Jason Alexander and Kevin Kline. In the black and white screen version of the novel, and directed by William Dieterle in 1939, Charles Laughton played bell ringer Quasimodo.
Of course, we shouldn’t expect Elba to look sexy in the film, given that Quasimodo isn’t exactly an attractive character. But there’s a sexiness in knowing that the actor will play a clumsy, lovestruck low-life. “Elba can hunch my back,” I read from a woman’s Twitter account. And mine too, if I’m being honest.
When Bernard Dayo isn’t writing about pop culture, he’s watching horror movies and reading comics and trying to pretend his addiction to Netflix isn’t a serious condition.
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