The 2016 Cannes Film Festival is now in full swing. For animation addicts, this means a perfect opportunity to get a pre-Annecy/pre-San-Diego Comic Con glimpse at the biggest animated projects on display. DreamWorks Animation, as usual, got things started with a footage presentation for Trolls. This was preceded the day before by a marketing stunt for Sony’s The Angry Birds Movie.
But it’s not just the American studios that get to have all the fun. Aardman and Studiocanal are back this year, with the goal of finding distribution partners for their upcoming film. To further achieve this goal, they already have a rising star as the first name attached to the voice cast.
As revealed earlier this week via a press release from Studiocanal, Eddie Redmayne has joined the cast of Aardman’s upcoming film Early Man as the voice of Dug. Production on the film has just begun, so expect further casting announcements to be made soon.
(Eddie Redmayne with his character, Dug.)
Early Man will mark the first feature animation voice role for the 34-year-old actor, whose star power has risen considerably in recent years thanks to his noteworthy performances in films like Les Miserables, The Theory of Everything, and The Danish Girl. He will be seen later this year in the role of Newt Scamander in Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Early Man will see Nick Park return to the director’s chair for a feature film, a decade after 2006’s Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit.
Here are his comments on Eddie’s casting: “Not only is Eddie a joy to work with, his versatility and boundless energy have really helped to bring my new character to life. He embodies the cheeky charm, fun and plucky wit of Dug and I’m sure he’ll get along brilliantly with Dug’s sidekick Hognob.”
(Left to right: Dug (Redmayne) and Hognob.)
We also have (finally) a plot synopsis for the film, which reads:
Set at the dawn of time, when prehistoric creatures and woolly mammoths roamed the earth, ‘EARLY MAN’ tells the story of how plucky caveman Dug, along with sidekick Hognob (also pictured) unites his tribe against the mighty Bronze Age in a battle to beat them at their own game. It also marks Nick Park’s first feature film since Academy Award winning ‘WALLACE AND GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT.’ Supported by accomplished screenwriter Mark Burton this new film unleashes an unforgettable cast of hilarious new characters.
The film is dated for a January 26, 2018 release in the UK. As I mentioned earlier, the hunt is still on for an American distributor.
What do you think? Do you have any thoughts on Eddie Redmayne’s casting in Early Man? Stay tuned for more news from this year’s Cannes Film Festival.
Edited by: Hannah Wilkes
