Christmas 2021 can’t come fast enough with this news.

I’m told that Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne has signed up to play the title character in “Jacob Marley,” the Disney Scrooge movie to be written and directed by another Oscar winner, Bill Condon.

With Redmayne in place, offers are going out for the various characters, including Scrooge in this re-telling of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” told through the eyes of Scrooge’s business partner.

They’ve got to use Aimee Mann’s great song, “Jacob Marley’s Chain.”

Tony winner Stephen Schwartz, whose hits run the gamut from “Pippin” to “Godspell” to “Wicked” is writing the songs. Glenn Geller, Dan Jinks, and Greg Yolen are producing.

Fingers are crossed on this one. It’s not like Marley’s descendants are going to show up protesting the veracity of the story or demanding producers credits. I have a good feeling here. [Source]