Sadly Josh O’Connor won’t be landing his dream role (Picture: Getty/Shutterstock)
Despite a concerted fan campaign, Hollywood star Josh O’Connor just lost out on the gig of a lifetime – starring in a live-action Ratatouille remake.
The heartwarming Disney Pixar animated movie follows culinary rat Remy (Patton Oswalt) who makes an unlikely alliance with struggling chef Alfredo Linguini (Lou Romano) in order to pursue his passions.
The film was a critical and box-office success, grossing $623million (£488million) worldwide. But there is no fan greater than the one and only, Josh.
The Crown star has made a name for himself as a Ratatouille mega-fan over the past couple of years after consistently bringing up his unending love for the film and describing it as a ‘perfect movie’.
‘I think I probably did watch Ratatouille again. I love Ratatouille,’ he once said, admitting he had likely watched it ‘100 times’.
His vocal devotion and uncanny facial similarity to Alfredo spurred fans to campaign for the 33-year-old actor to be cast in a live-action remake of the hit movie. But sadly, their pleas have been cast aside.
The film was a hit in 2007 (Picture: Disney/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)
Josh could make it a hit again (Picture: Getty)
In a new interview, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter was asked whether he had heard about the casting campaign to which he offered an immediate no.
But instead of immediately seeing the vision, the Oscar-winning filmmaker crush any fan hope when asked if the dream could ever become reality.
‘No, and this might bite me in the butt for saying it, but it sort of bothers me,’ he told TIME.
‘I like making movies that are original and unique to themselves. To remake it, it’s not very interesting to me personally.’
He added that putting the story into the real world ‘would be tough’.
‘The worlds that we’ve built just don’t translate very easily.’
Unfortunately, fan hopes have been crushed (Picture: Disney/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)
But Josh has plenty of other acting jobs to keep him busy (Picture: Getty)
Although some Pixar fans agreed with the decision, insisting that Ratatouille did not need a live-action remake, the refusal has also led to heartbroken fans.
‘I respect it. I’m very glad they’re not making it live-action. but my heart aches for Josh O’Connor Linguini,’ @kesslersyndrom3 wrote.
‘Josh O’Conner just fell to his knees,’ @dksgyusolo added. ‘Josh O’Connor’s dream role destroyed,’ @mescalordi echoed.
The rejection has even recruited more people to the cause with @mcclearly_james adding: ‘This is the first I’m hearing of a live-action Ratatouille and now I want one? Josh O’Connor can play both parts.’
Although we won’t be seeing the Challengers star as Alfredo anytime soon, his career is still thriving.
He was recently spotted on the set of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery opposite Benoit Blanc actor Daniel Craig who is sporting a dashing new haircut.
Nothing is currently known about Josh’s role in the murder-mystery threequel but he will feature alongside Cailee Spaeny, Andrew Scott, Kerry Washington and Jeremy Renner.
Despite his skyrocketing fame, and growing Ratatouille fanbase, the Golden Globe winner hasn’t come to terms with his movie star potential just yet.
‘I don’t think I have,’ he told The Guardian in a recent interview.
‘That’s not me being faux-humble. I’m too anxious a person. I don’t know that I have those attributes really. I don’t think I’m quite strong enough to be a movie star.’
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