‘Animal Farm’: Andy Serkis’ Animated Film Taps Seth Rogen, Kieran Culkin, Woody Harrelson & Many More

Actor turned filmmaker Andy Serkis has been trying to get a new feature film version of George Orwell‘s (“1984”) 1945 novella “Animal Farm” (yet another story warning about fascism in society) into theaters for decades, and we finally have an update on a voice cast assembled for a new animated film iteration that counts Matt Reeves (“The Batman”) as an executive producer.

Variety has revealed that the stacked group of talented actors voicing various animals in the pic will include Seth Rogen (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”), Gaten Matarazzo (“Stranger Things”), Steve Buscemi (“Hotel Transylvania”), eight-time Oscar nominee Glenn Close (“Guardians of The Galaxy”), Laverne Cox (“Promising Young Woman”), recent Best Supporting Actor winner Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”), Woody Harrelson (“Triangle of Sadess”), Jim Parsons (“Big Bang Theory”), Kathleen Turner (“Romancing The Stone”), and Iman Vellani (“Ms. Marvel”).

READ MORE: ‘The Hunt For Gollum’: Director Andy Serkis Says His New ‘LOTR’ Movie Has Been Delayed To December 2027

A brief logline for the new “Animal Farm” film, as mentioned by the outlet:

“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.”

Nick Stoller, who recently played himself in Rogen’s film industry comedy “The Studio” pitching a faux “Kool-Aid” movie, is behind the adaptation’s script. His laundry list of comedy projects features the likes of the gay romantic comedy “Bros,” “Platonic,” “Storks,” “Neighbors,” “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “Get Him To The Greek,” “The Muppets,” “Muppets Most Wanted,” the recent “Goosebumps” series revival, and “The Five-Year Engagement.”

Serkis’ directing credits include second unit on “The Hobbit” trilogy, “Mowgli: Legend of The Jungle,” “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” and he has been tasked to direct “The Lord of The Rings: The Hunt For Gollum” for Warner Bros./New Line Cinema.

The novella had been notably adapted into an animated film in 1954, and was directed by John Halas and Joy Batchelor, along with a made-for-television version in 1999 that had animal puppets handled by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop and aired on TNT.

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We’re still waiting on an official release date for “Animal Farm,” but given the high-profile cast and producing team now involved, an update on that front won’t take too long.