Idris Elba has been cast as Macavity in the upcoming Cats movie. Elba is reportedly in final negotiations to portray the villain in the big screen adaptation of the iconic Broadway show. Macavity is known as The Napoleon of Crime and the Mystery Cat in both the Broadway show and T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, which is the source material. Macavity is a large role and will feature the singing voice of Elba, who has a background in music, having released some singles and EPs over the last handful of years.

Idris Elba is also playing the villain in the Fast and Furious spin-off Hobbs & Shaw with Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham, which is currently filming. Cats will mark the second time in the last few years that Elba has portrayed a feline villain character, after playing Shere Khan in Jon Favreau's live-action take on The Jungle Book. On the musical side, the actor has worked with Jay-Z, Fat Joe, Angie Stone, as well as Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, so the singing should not be a challenge for Elba.

Idris Elba joins Taylor Swift, Ian McKellen, Jennifer Hudson, and James Corden, who were all confirmed to be a part of the Cats movie back in July. The project has been in development for a number of years, and is expected to begin filming by the end of the year. Hudson stars as Grizabella, the former Glamour Cat and Ian McKellen is set to play the patriarch, Old Deuteronomy. Swift and Cordon's characters have yet to be revealed at this time.

Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber recently gave some hints about Taylor Swift's mysterious character in the Cats movie. The composer says that 28-year old Swift will be playing one of the Macavity girls, but he's not sure which one. This means that she'll be sharing some screen time with Idris Elba when musical hits theaters. Webber admits that the idea to cast the young musician was made by director Tom Hooper, who thought that it would be a great idea. As of September, Webber admitted that he had yet to meet Swift, though he mentioned that he was looking forward to it.

The Cats movie is set to be directed by Tom Hooper, who directed the hit movie adaptation of Les Miserables in 2012. Filming is expected to begin in November and is scheduled to run until February of next year in England. The big screen adaptation of the world-famous musical is scheduled to hit theaters on December 20th, 2019. The Broadway show has won numerous awards over the years, including Best Musical at both the Laurence Olivier Awards and the Tony Awards. The London production of Cats ran for 21 years and the Broadway production ran for 18 years, both setting new records. The movie will more than likely be a hit as well with the all-star cast and Tom Hooper involved. The news of Idris Elba joining the cast was first reported by Variety.