I always think that the musical adaptation of Les Misérables is older than it is. And by that, I mean I feel like it came out during the time of Gilbert & Sullivan. It didn’t. The 25th Anniversary tour was only two years ago. Why is this relevant? Because when I first heard the news that a new song was being written for Tom Hooper’s upcoming film version, I was horrified that someone else would be tampering with the work of Alain Boubil, Claude-Michel Schonberg, and Herbert Kretzmer. Well, it turns out that the tampering will be coming from Boubil, Schonberg, and Kretzmer themselves. And you know what? That’s awesome.
The song, “Suddenly,” supposedly fills in some of the nine-year gap between Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) taking little Cosette from the Thénardiers and bigger Cosette asking Valjean about the past. I’ve always wondered what happened then as well, so this is pretty awesome. I do wonder what’s being cut, though, in order to add this song. I hope there will be a full three-and-a-half hour Director’s Cut available at some point, but the theatrical release won’t be nearly that long. Maybe what we see in theaters will be more akin to the School Edition, which clocks in closer to two hours. Either way, I’m looking forward to it.
Also, if you got that joke up there, you’re awesome. If we ever meet up, I owe you a high five.
[Via IndieWire]
