We’re pawsitively thrilled about the prospect of seeing Taylor Swift as a cat.
Universal
Cats the movie is coming this December, but we’re getting our first look this week. Ahead of the official trailer being released on Friday, a behind-the-scenes video dropped on Wednesday showing the stars of the movie including Taylor Swift, Judy Dench, Idris Elba, Jason Derulo, Rebel Wilson and Jennifer Hudson exploring the set and talking about their love of all things theatrical.
The slated release date for Cats the movie is December 20 2019, making it the perfect film to go and see with your family over this year’s Christmas break. Bringing together a cast of household names with hiphop, tap and Royal Ballet dancers, the movie will bring Andrew Lloyd Webber’s world-famous musical to the big screen for the very first time.
For member Judy Dench the film marks an important moment in her illustrious career. Dench was cast in the original stage cast of the musical in 1981, but snapped her achilles tendon and couldn’t take up the role. Now, she finally has her chance. “I thought that was my history with Cats,” she said. “But it turns out not to be.”
In the preview, we get our first glimpse of the giant set complete with oversized chairs and bicycles, created by director Tom Hooper to give us a cat’s-eye view of the world. Dench described being on the set as “a kind of Alice in Wonderland experience.”
The video also teases the technology that will digitally add fur to the actors bodies to transform them into their feline characters. The technique has apparently never been used before, and we can’t wait to see the results when the full trailer arrives later this week.
Who is Taylor Swift playing?
Popstar Taylor Swift will be playing the role of Bombalurina, a flirtatious cat, and according to IMDB she will be performing in at least five of the musical’s iconic songs. It’s the ideal role for the star, who is famously a dedicated cat mother to her own three balls of fluff: Dr Meredith Grey, Detective Olivia Benson and Benjamin Button.
“My first memories of performance go back to when I was in Pennsylvania growing up,” says Swift in the behind-the-scenes video. “My favorite thing was getting to be theatrical, to tell a story and I’ve always brought that narrative element to my live shows.”
Swift came straight off her award-winning Reputation stadium tour into rehearsals for Cats. Before the movie started shooting, she attended “cat school” with her fellow cast members, where together they learned how to mimic the physical and behavioral traits of their feline roles.
“This musical is timeless,” Swift said. “We got to update it in ways that I think are just so, so, so great.”
We can’t wait — check back for our first impressions of the trailer on Friday.