Fred Cavaye’s ‘Les Misérables’ With Vincent Lindon, Tahar Rahim, Camille Cottin, Benjamin Lavernhe & Noémie Merlant Begins Filming in Bordeaux

Studiocanal has announced the start of shoot for French director Fred Cavayé’s star-studded feature film adaptation of The miserable.

The studio said filming began on July 17 in the French city of Bordeaux and will continue through August before moving onto the Bry-sur-Marne studios in September concluding in Paris this November.

Vincent Lindon leads the cast in the role of Jean Valjean, the hero of Victor Hugo’s 1862 classic novel who transforms from hardened ex-convict and parole breaker to benevolent industrialist.

The studio said filming began on July 17 in the French city of Bordeaux and will continue through August before moving onto the Bry-sur-Marne studios in September concluding in Paris this November. It released an image of the clapperboard registering the first day of the shoot with a crowd scene in the backdrop.

As revealed by Deadline in May, Lindon is joined in the ensemble cast by Tahar Rahim, Camille Cottin, Benjamin Lavernhe and Noémie Merlant.

Rahim (Madame Web, Mr AZNAVOUR) will play Valjean’s nemesis Inspector Javert, who becomes obsessed with tracking him down. Benjamin Lavernhe, seen recently in the French hit The Marching Bandand Call My Agent! Star Camille Cottin, Will Appear As Evil Innkeepers Thénardier and Madame Thénardier. Merlant (Tric) will play the tragic figure of Fantine, whose daughter, Cosette, Valjean takes in as his own.

Studiocanal said Cavayé’s adaptation would embrace Victor Hugo’s “timeless classic” while “transporting audiences into a modern cinematic event for 2026”.

The The miserable adaptation marks a departure for Cavayé whose credits include World War Two drama Farewell, Mr. Haffmancomedy drama Nothing to Hide (the French version of Italian hit Perfect Strangers) and thrillers such as Anything for Herwhich was remade in English with Russell Crowe as The Next Three Days.

Talking to Deadline in May ahead of a presentation of the project in Cannes, Cavayé revealed he had taken inspiration from the 1993 film The Fugitive – in which Harrison Ford plays a man who goes on the run after he is wrongly accused of killing his wife, Tommy Lee Jones’s character in hot pursuit – for the dynamic between Valjean and his pursuer Javert.

“The film will retain the literary, dramatic side, the depth of the characters, and the social issues at the heart of the story, which unfortunately remain increasingly relevant to do today. But there’s an aspect of the novel, which ultimately makes it an adventure story, albeit with depth,” he said.

“I want to ramp that up in a way which has never really been highlighted in other adaptations. The film will remain true to Victor Hugo’s novel, at the same time as slipping in thriller codes and dynamics, such as a chase scene when Valjean steals the loaf of bread.”

The film is produced by Richard Grandpierre at Eskwad (The Tuche Family franchise, Beauty And The BeastBrotherhood of the Wolf) and Olivier Delbosc at Curiosa Films (The Quiet Son, Of Blood and Money) in co-production with Studiocanal – which holds all distribution rights – and with TF1 Films Production and the support of Canal + and Netflix.

The film will be released in theaters on November 11, 2026, in France.