Gruel-requesting, Fagin-following scamp Oliver Twist is heading back to the big screen with Sony fast-tracking a 'reimagining' of the Charles Dickens character and his pickpocketing pal, the Artful Dodger, in Dodge And Twist.

Set 20 years after Dickens left them in various states of gladness and misfortune, screenwriter Cole Haddon's tale promises adventure and more of the kind of criminal activity that made the Dodger such a fixture on Her Maj's most-wanted list. The two characters are found on opposite sides of the law and a plot is afoot to unburden the Queen of her crown jewels.

The Hollywood Reporter highlight Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes movies as a reference point for the combination of snap and crackle that Sony and Monsterfoot Productions are looking for from this adaptation of Ahmet Zappa's idea. Haddon, meanwhile, has an NBC series Dracula upcoming and comic books The Strange Cases Of Mr. Hyde and Space Gladiator behind him.