Rebel Wilson joins cast of 'Cats' movie adaptation starring Taylor Swift, James Corden and Idris Elba
The Australian actor will play Jennyanydots, a cat who spends most of the day sitting but leads a busy life at night
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Rebel Wilson has joined the cast of the upcoming film adaptation of Cats.
The Australian actor is set to play Jennyanydots, also known as the Old Gumbie Cat, featured in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical, Deadline reported.
Wilson is joining a wide cast of A-listers in Tom Hooper's version of the West End classic, which will feature Taylor Swift, Idris Elba, and James Corden among others.
In the iconic play, Jennyanydots is described as a feline who spends most of the day sitting and seeking out "warm and sunny spots".
At night, though, she gets up to teach the mice "music, crocheting and tatting".
The cat feeds the mice by way of "baking and frying", preparing "a mouse-cake of bread and dried peas" and "a beautiful fry of lean bacon and cheese".
Mice are not the only recipients of Jennyanydots's attentions.
Cockroaches, too, have received the Old Gumbie Cat treatment, and she has turned them into "a troop of well-disciplined helpful boy scouts".
Several cast announcements have been made for the upcoming musical film, which is being directed by Tom Hooper and is expected to be released in December 2019.
Swift will play one of the two "Macavity Girls", Webber told Vulture in September. He was referring to the two cats who sing about Macavity, a mysterious cat described as the "Napoleon of crime" who always manages to escape after a misdeed.
Elba will star as Macavity, Jennifer Hudson has been cast as Grizabella, Sir Ian McKellen is set to play Gus the Theatre Cat, and Judi Dench will appear as Old Deuteronomy.
Corden's part hasn't been detailed yet.
The cast has started rehearsing in Hertfordshire, UK, according to Deadline.
Webber is an executive producer on the film, as are Steven Spielberg and Angela Morrison, who previously worked on Hooper's 2012 adaptation of Les Misérables.
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