They say this project is still in the early stages of developing, but who cares, we're interested to see what Tim Burton is planning to do next.
And here it is – a film version of Victor Hugo's classic The Hunchback of Notre Dame. But that's not all that we have to share with you today, because we just learned that Josh Brolin is set to produce and star in the whole thing!
The word is that Warner Bros. has hired Kieran and Michele Mulroney, duo behind Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, to adapt Hugo's 1831 novel. We're talking about a powerful historical romance that has resonated with succeeding generations ever since its publication in 1837.
The story of Quasimodo, a deformed and hunchbacked bell-ringer of the Norte Dame cathedral who tragically falls in love with beautiful gypsy named Esmerelda, was first adapted in 1905 into a film titled “Esmerelda”. I'm quite sure you all remember the last major adaptations, back in 1997, when we had a high-profile Disney animated movie as well as an action-heavy picture with Mandy Patinkin and Salma Hayek.
With Burton and Brolin on board, we guess that this could be something special. And, until we hear more details about the new project, here' a little description of the original novel:
“Set in medieval Paris, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame tells the story of the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, condemned as a witch by the tormented archdeacon Claude Frollo, who lusts after her. Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer of Notre-Dame Cathedral, having fallen in love with the kindhearted Esmeralda, tries to save her by hiding her in the cathedral's tower. When a crowd of Parisian peasants, misunderstanding Quasimodo's motives, attacks the church in an attempt to liberate her, the story ends in tragedy.”
Tim Burton, Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame
