Andy Serkis has been working to make an Animal Farm adaptation happen for well over a decade, and honestly, the wait might have been worth it. George Orwell’s 1945 novel, an allegory warning of the rise of fascism, could hit home with audiences given the current political climate. Variety reports Serkis has found the voice cast for his animated movie, with a whole host of celebs set to play the story’s various animal characters.
Serkis has cast Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Steve Buscemi, Glenn Close, Laverne Cox, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson, Jim Parsons, Kathleen Turner, and Ms. Marvel‘s Iman Vellani to voice Animal Farm.
Of course, Serkis will be lending his own voice to the film, as well.
With Serkis behind the camera, the script will be written by Nicholas Stoller, best known for Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Get Him to the Greek, The Muppets, Neighbors, and the recent rom-com Bros. The Batman director Matt Reeves is aboard as an exec-producer.
Here’s a logline for the film, which reveals that Rogen will voice the farm’s Stalin-esque leader, the boar Napoleon.
“The story of a group of animals who rebel against their human owners and take over the farm. Their uprising over, they are presented with a fresh set of challenges under the rule of a cunning pig named Napoleon (Rogen). It’s a situation that forces them to find the courage to stand up to Napoleon.”
Serkis last directed Venom: Let There Be Carnage in 2021, preceded by Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle in 2018, and his debut Breathe in 2017.
Animal Farm is reportedly set to open on July 11th.
