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British acting royalty Michael Caine is set to play Fagin in Twist, a modern interpretation of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist that will also see Games of Thrones‘ Lena Headey play the notorious Sikes.
Rita Ora, David Walliams, Franz Drameh, Sophie Simnett will also star, while newcomer Raff Law — the son of Jude Law and Sadie Frost — will play the lead.
Twist was announced Wednesday by Sky, the Comcast-owned pan-European satellite giant, and will be launched on its Sky Cinema channel and theatrically simultaneously.
In the latest adaptation of the classic novel, Twist sees Oliver reinvented as a streetwise artist living on the streets of modern-day London. A chance encounter with a gang of grifters led by the charismatic Dodge (Ora) sees Twist (Law) caught up in a high-stakes heist to steal a priceless painting for master thief Fagin, and his psychopathic business partner, Sikes (Headey). Drameh will play Batesey, Simnett will play Red and Walliams will play Losberne.
“Fagin is such an infamous character, it’s going to be great fun playing him,” said Caine. “I’m really looking forward to working with Lena, Raff and the rest of the cast in London when we start shooting.”
Headey commented: “I couldn’t be more excited to take on the iconic character of Sikes from Oliver Twist. Flipping roles without apology or character softening is a brilliant way to breathe new life into established materials and bring it to new audiences.”
Sarah Wright, director of Sky Cinema and acquisitions at Sky U.K. & Ireland, commented: “Twist is Dickens’ classic tale as you’ve never seen it before. Daring, modern and packed full of the greatest British talent, this co-production demonstrates Sky’s ambition for original films. I can’t wait for our customers to see it.”
Twist is being directed by Martin Owen (Killers Anonymous, The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud) and produced by Unstoppable Film and TV, Posterity Pictures and Puregrass Films. Twist was written by John Wrathall (The Liability) with additional writing by Sally Collett and Owen (The Intergalactic Adventures of Max Cloud). Producers are Matt Williams, Ben Grass, Jason Maza and Noel Clarke. Financiers include MEP Capital, Blue Rider and Lipsync Productions. Worldwide sales are with Arclight Films, who are also financing.
The film goes into production in London this autumn.
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