One Day More
Les Misérables: A 2024 Reimagining
Musical Movie Mastery
Anyone who has read my previous article will know that I was just in the United Kingdom where I saw a magnificent production of Les Misérables in the West End. It got me thinking about what a movie iteration would look like if it were released in 2024, 12 years after the Hugh Jackman film. So without further ado, here are my ideas for a 2024 version of the iconic musical.
He’s no Hugh Jackman, but Dominic Cooper can definitely play the part, and can sing it too. He might not have the imposing figure that Hugh Jackman had in the role, but I can definitely see Cooper fit this iteration.
He might be more recognized for being Spider-Man, but in tick, tick… BOOM (2021) Andrew Garfield added singing to his list of talents. There are probably more experienced actor/singers out there for the role of Javert, but I can just imagine Garfield singing “2–4–6–0–1” in my head.
Anne Hathaway laid it all out there in the role of Fantine, so like all of the other roles, it’s kind of difficult to justify anyone else in the role. That aside, Catherine Zeta-Jones can really belt it, and her vocal range suits this role very well.
Cosette as an adult is such a pivotal character, and for the sake of the vision I have in mind, I can’t think of anyone other than Florence Pugh for the role. She hasn’t done an honest-to-goodness musical in her career yet, but she certainly has the talent for it.
Egerton was my first idea for any role, and I knew it had to be Marius. Taron Egerton has such a magnificent and unique voice, and his sound almost sounds like it requires little to no effort, so I can only imagine how vibrant he would be in a vital role like this that requires 110%.
This was an interesting one. Madame Thénardier was a little more of a challenge to find someone for, but when Hugh Grant came to mind, it just felt like too good of an option. If you couple his comedic stylings with his underrated singing voice, he would totally own this role.
The big question that came with this role, especially after finding my guy for Thénardier, was who can match Hugh Grant’s presence? This took a lot more digging around than I expected, but Samantha Fox made so much sense when I came across her. Fox was more recognized for her singing career than her acting career, but she certainly has the energy and attitude to rival Hugh Grant.
I mean, how do you not reunite Taron Egerton with Jamie Bell after their amazing chemistry in Rocketman (2019)? They captured lightning in a bottle in that movie, and I think lightning would strike a second time if this ever happened.
Eponine is a character that has a huge impact on the plot, and after seeing the trailer for Back to Black (2024), I was convinced that this was Marisa Abela’s role. If she can portray Amy Winehouse, she can certainly take the role of Eponine.
While he may not have many acting credits to his name, Nathanael Saleh can definitely bring it to this role. He did star in Mary Poppins Returns (2018), so this would only add to his musical résumé.
Sure, there’s the obvious in that he directed Rocketman (2019) and what was left of Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) after the Bryan Singer controversy. However, I would much rather cite that as experience in the musical film genre, while Dexter Fletcher’s style really complements the setting that Les Misérables is set in.
This may seem like an inconsequential role, but the subtleties of the score do make all the difference in how the overall film is observed and taken in. Alexandre Desplat is an award-winning composer, and is one of the best in the modern era, and would do wonders in producing the music.
In the end, I don’t see this as the perfect cast. I don’t really think there’s such a thing, but this is what cinema and the stage does, right? It inspires us to generate our own ideas, and that’s really how I’d like this to be viewed. An idea sparked by ideas that came before me.
