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Super voices in play for WB’s LEGO movie
Will Arnett set as Batman, Channing Tatum courted for Superman
By Jeff Sneider
Auds won’t have to wait for “Justice League” to see Warner Bros.’ two marquee
superheroes share the bigscreen, as both Batman and Superman will be characters
in the studio’s “Lego” movie.
The “Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs” team of Phil Lord and Christopher Miller
are directing “LEGO: The Piece of Resistance,” which is a hybrid of
live-action and LEGO-based animation. Casting is currently underway, as Chris
Pratt (“Parks and Recreation”) is set to voice the pic’s lead character, while
Will Arnett will voice the role of LEGO Batman.
Helmers are courting their “21 Jump Street” star Channing Tatum to voice
Superman, though he has not committed due to his busy schedule, which includes
Sony’s “White House Down,” Bennett Miller’s “Foxcatcher,” a big-budget sci-fi
pic from the Wachowski siblings and a “Jump Street” sequel.
Pratt will play Emmet, an ordinary, law-abiding, LEGO mini-figure who is
mistaken for the most extraordinary MasterBuilder. He’s drafted into a
fellowship of strangers on a quest to stop an evil tyrant from gluing the
universe together.
In November, Warners brought on Chris McKay, director of Adult Swim’s
stop-motion animated comedy “Robot Chicken,” to serve as co-director under Lord
and Miller. Dan Lin and Roy Lee are producing.
Oz-based vfx-toon house Animal Logic will handle pic’s animation, which is
expected to comprise 80% of “LEGO.” Project, which was greenlit late last year,
is skedded for release on Feb. 28, 2014.
“LEGO” has been in development at WB since 2008, when the studio began working
with the toymaker on a family comedy based on the popular building blocks,
tapping scribes Dan and Kevin Hageman to write the script.
LEGO and WB have partnered for several years producing Batman toys and
videogames, and will launch a new set of playthings around “The Dark Knight
Rises” through the Lego Batman collection. “LEGO® Batman: The Videogame,”
published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, has sold more than 12
million units since 2008.
During last year’s Comic-Con, the studio announced an expanded relationship with
LEGO, granting the toymaker access to DC Entertainment’s complete library of
comicbook characters and stories to launch DC Universe superheroes as figures
and playsets in January.
Pratt, who stole scenes in “The Five Year Engagement” and will soon be seen in
Kathryn Bigelow’s Osama bin Laden pic, is repped by CAA and Mosaic.
Arnett is no stranger to animation, having voiced characters in “Ice Age: The
Meltdown,” “Ratatouille,” “Horton Hears a Who!,” “Monsters vs Aliens,”
“Despicable Me” and “The Secret World of Arrietty.” He’s repped by WME,
Principato-Young Entertainment and attorney Neil Meyer.
From: Variety.com
-end of report-
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