In January 2018, Hooper and Working Title began officially casting for the film, whilst also looking into the technical aspect of whether the film would be entirely live-action, or computer generated, or a mix of both,[28] with Andrew Lloyd Webber announcing he would be writing a new song for the film adaptation.[29] In June 2018, there were reports Anne Hathaway and Rihanna were considered for roles in the film, but both passed due to scheduling conflicts.[30] In July 2018, Jennifer Hudson, Taylor Swift, James Corden and Ian McKellen joined the cast.[31]