Mackintosh produced the acclaimed 1994 London revival of the 1960 musical at the London Palladium, which returned in a 2009 production at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. In recent months, Mackintosh had been seeking the film rights to the musical, which won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Picture in its original film incarnation.

Bourne, who choreographed the 1994 London revival, told The Guardian that the project was in "the pipeline" and that Mackintosh was hoping to follow up his screen adaptation of Les Misérables with a remake of Oliver!

Bourne's works include Swan Lake, Edward Scissorhands, The Car Man and Mary Poppins, among others.

Oliver! has not been revived on Broadway since a short-lived 1984 production, which starred Patti LuPone and Ron Moody. The original, Tony Award-winning 1963 Broadway production starred Clive Revill and Georgia Brown.

Bart's musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" earned a Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist. The popular musical includes the songs "As Long As He Needs Me," "Where Is Love?," "Food, Glorious Food," "Consider Yourself" and "Who Will Buy?"