It’s been a busy year for Disney and it’s about to get even busier… as they announce a brand-new animated collaboration with Lucasfilm called Strange Magic – to be released in January 2015.
The project is the brain child of George Lucas and his Star Wars prequel sound mixer, George Rydstrom… but while the project was thought to have been canned, it looks as though it’s actually alive and well and heading to cinemas early next year.
Originally created by George Lucas back in 2010, the story was thought of as nothing but a rumour until recent rumblings that a new Lucasfilm animation was in the works. But while little has been heard since, this shock announcement has placed Strange Magic for a 2015 release.
According to the official press release, the film is “a madcap fairy tale musical” which uses pop music from the last six decades to tell the tale of “a colorful cast of goblins, elves, fairies and imps, and their hilarious misadventures sparked by the battle over a powerful potion.”
It’s also said to take inspiration from William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream but to what extent is currently unknown. But who will be starring in this ambitious musical venture? It seems that info is also up for grabs…
“For musical fans, the cast couldn’t look more appealing,” says HitFix. “Alan Cumming, Evan Rachel Wood, Kristin Chenoweth, Maya Rudolph, Sam Palladio, Alfred Molina, Elijah Kelley, Bob Einstein co-star in the film.”
Obviously, this is a huge departure from Lucasfilm’s galaxy far, far away – the franchise that it’s become most associated with. But perhaps it shouldn’t come as such a surprise. After all, the studio has produced more than just the Star Wars movies, creating Indiana Jones and even Willow.
But will this new film be any good? For now, we’ll have to wait and see… but I have a good feeling about this.
What do you think of Lucasfilm’s new animated movie? Will it manage to extend the studio’s reach? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
