Disney’s CinemaCon panel has just confirmed the latest Chris addition/return to the Walt Disney Company. Previously in talks for their latest animated film, Wish, Chris Pine has officially been confirmed as part of the cast.
Pine is previously know for playing Captain Jim Kirk in the rebooted Star Trek franchise and most recently as Edgin Darvis in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023). Disney fans may also know him as heartthrob Nicholas Devereaux in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004). While unfortunately not returning to the Disney umbrella to reprise his role for a third Princess Diaries movie, he’ll be voicing King Magnifico in Wish.
King Magnifico is the ruler of the kingdom of Rosas, a magical land where wishes come true. Executive producer Jennifer Lee credits Pine as being the best choice to give the character “charm, cleverness, and charisma,” saying that he’s bringing that “beautifully.” More information was also revealed about the film, which also stars Ariana DeBose as Asha. Asha makes a wish that is answered by a cosmic force called Star who helps Asha prove that humans can work with magic, wishes, and the stars to create wonderful things.
The film has an all-star team working on it, with director Chris Buck coming from the Frozen films teaming up with Fawn Veerasunthron of Raya and the Last Dragon (2021). Peter Del Vecho, also from Frozen, and Juan Pablo Reyes from Encanto are co-producing the film and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Julia Michaels (“Issues,” “If The World Was Ending”) writing songs for the film.
The film’s release date is November 22, 2023, helping the Walt Disney Company wrap up the year as part of the Disney100 celebrations and is expected to be given a theatrical release instead of following Disney’s recent trend of releasing films straight to Disney+. In a break from recent tradition, the film will incorporate aspects of both 2D and 3D animation. The last Disney film to be completely 2d was The Princess and the Frog in 2009. For now, that’s all fans know about the film, but fans will get the full trailer for the movie tomorrow.
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