Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, has been made into a feature film ten different times. Now, 180 years after the book was first published, it’s heading to theaters yet again.
According to reports, actor Josh Brolin and director Tim Burton are in talks to bring an adaptation of The Hunchback of Notre Dame to the big screen for Warner Bros. Brolin will not only star in the film, but also act as a producer.
Kieran and Michele Mulroney, the duo behind Sherlock Holmes 2, are signed on to write the script for the film. Burton’s involvement in the film is still tentative, pending a first draft of the screenplay. Currently, Tim Burton is working on Dark Shadows, which may re-team him with former Catwoman Michelle Pfeiffer.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a classic story and one that actually is worth retelling. For those who haven’t read the book, or only remember the 1997 Disney movie, The Hunchback of Notre Dame tells the story of Quasimodo, a deaf hunchback who is tasked with ringing the bells of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Unlike the Disney movie however, Quasimodo doesn’t spend his free time singing songs and commiserating about life with talkative gargoyles. Hugo’s original novel contains sex, betrayal, murder, revenge and much more. When you think about it, is there a director more suited for the Gothic sensibilities of The Hunchback of Notre Dame than Tim Burton?
As for Josh Brolin, I think he’s an excellent actor and I’d be very interested to see him play the tragically deformed hunchback. Unlike a lot of handsome actors, Brolin has shown he doesn’t mind uglying himself up with his role in Jonah Hex (though I think we can all agree that it’d be better if the the final outcome isn’t the same).
Alongside The Hunchback of Notre Dame, what are some of the other classic pieces of literature that continually pop up on the big screen? Off the top of my head, I can think of The Three Musketeers and Robin Hood. Any others?
