Since the Ant-Man debacle Edgar Wright has hopped to Grasshopper Jungle, revved up Baby Driver and been at work on something new with his Cornetto compadre Simon Pegg. But it turns out Wright also had time to sneak in another job: he's been writing the screenplay for the Dickensian caper **Dodge And Twist.
Cole Haddon and Simon Beaufoy wrote previous drafts of the adventure, but Wright has apparently started the whole thing over from scratch. He reviewed the situation and thought it out again.
The Sony project is a 'steampunk reimagining' of Dickens' gruel-requesting, Fagin-following workhouse urchin, picking up Oliver and the Artful Dodger 20 years after their first encounter. The two characters are found on opposite sides of the law and a plot is afoot to unburden the Queen of her crown jewels. Because you've got to pick a pocke... ah, never mind.
Dodge And Twist is based on a novel by Tony Lee, although it sounds as if the film won't share much with it beyond its title and basic premise. Producer Ahmet Zappa (The Odd Life Of Timothy Green) set the cart's wheels in motion, and he's now been joined behind the scenes by Matt Tolmach (The Amazing Spider-Man).
There's no cast, director or even a start date yet, but the Wright draft could finally be the script that gets Dodge And Twist the green light. Lee's book hasn't been published in ye olde paper form, but is available for your newfangled electronic devices.