Hamilton's Tony-Winning Director Thomas Kail Set to Helm Oliver Twist Film

The man is non-stop! After grabbing a Tony Award for helming Hamilton as well as an Emmy for his work on Fox's tremendously successful Grease: Live, Thomas Kail has been tapped to direct his first feature film. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney, Ice Cube and Kail are joining forces to revamp Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist for the big screen. Marc Platt and Jeff Kwatinetz are also attached as producers, and Ice Cube is set to take on the role of pickpocket gang leader Fagin.

Oliver Twist is based on Dickens' 1838 novel about an orphan born into a life of poverty determined to be part of something bigger. The story has already been adapted for the stage in the form of the 1964 musical Oliver! as well as 1968's Academy Award-winning Best Picture of the same name. The Hollywood Reporter says that Ice Cube and Kail's modern musical retelling will incorporate a number of musical genres—hip-hop included.

As previously reported, Kail is also teaming up with Oscar-winning rapper and actor Common and How to Make It in America creator Ian Edelman to produce Fox's forthcoming series 93 Til Infinity, a '90s hip-hop focused comedy. In addition to these projects, off-Broadway's Tiny Beautiful Things, which begins performances on November 15 at The Public Theater, boasts Kail at the helm.