In the past year, director Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) has seen himself become almost overnight a huge success, with The King’s Speech topping many critics’ and individuals’ Films of the Year lists last year, along with earning himself the Best Director award at the Oscars earlier this year.

His next project, a film adaptation of Victor Hugo’s novel, Les Misérables, is lining up to be pretty damn brilliant, with a cast that currently includes Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Eddie Redmayne, and rumours of Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter to boot.

Talking to the BBC, Hooper has now put to bed the possibility of the project being released in 3D, saying,

“I can definitely announce it’s good old-fashioned 2D.”

He confirmed that he had been doing some testing with shooting it in 3D, but ultimately decided against it, which I think is a good move for him. Justifying the decision, he said that he wanted to make a film that everyone could connect with:

“One of the things I’m most proud of with The King’s Speech is how it managed to do that, whether you’re eight or 80 years old.

“So I slightly worry with 3D that some people will physically struggle with it. If you have a certain type of eyesight it can be more demanding than watching a normal movie.

“With a two-and-a-half hour film, I didn’t want to make something that anyone might think ‘That’s not for me, because I don’t like the medium’.

“I wanted to make a film that would touch everyone. I believe the story is so strong, 3D is not essential.”

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of the 3D medium, in part because the 3D glasses on top of my regular glasses just doesn’t feel comfortable and often ends up giving me a bit of a headache, so I can definitely appreciate Hooper’s reasoning here. Granted, I definitely would’ve still gone to see the film however it was released, but I’m glad that he’ll be sticking to 2D, and it’s that much better for ticket prices on our end.

Hooper also added that we should be getting some more casting news soon for the roles of Cosette and Éponine, both of which I believe are child roles, and hopefully we’ll get confirmation of Rush and Bonham Carter’s involvement with those announcements too.

“I’ve never done a film where big star actors are as obsessed with being in it as this!”

The cast is already fantastic, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out when it arrives on the big screen next year. Shooting is scheduled to begin in March, with a release date currently set for December of next year, perfectly lining it up for consideration for the Oscars at the start of 2013. As always, more news as we get it.