Kid Cudi Joins Voice Cast of Trolls Threequel “Trolls Band Together”

Kid Cudi is on a t(roll)

The 39-year-old half-Mexican American rapper, singer, songwriter record producer and actor has joined the voice cast of Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Animation’s next Trolls film.

Kid Cudi The studios have unveiled the official title for the third film in their hit animated musical franchise, which opens in theaters nationwide on November 17.

Returning to lead the threequel, Trolls Band Together, as expected, are Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick.

In addition to Kid Cudi, others set for the film include Eric André, Daveed Diggs, Troye SivanCamila Cabello, Amy Schumer, Andrew Rannells, RuPaul Charles, Zosia Mamet, Zooey Deschanel, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Icona Pop collaborators Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt, Anderson .Paak, Ron Funches , Kunal Nayyar and Kenan Thompson.

Trolls is a jukebox musical franchise that has thus far grossed over $396M worldwide between 2016’s Trolls, which landed a Best Original Song Oscar nom for the Timberlake-voiced pop hit “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” and 2020’s somewhat pandemic-hampered Trolls World Tour.

The new film will pick up with trolls Poppy (Kendrick) and Branch (Timberlake) after two films of true friendship and relentless flirting, at a point when they’re now officially, finally, a couple (#broppy)! As they grow closer, Poppy discovers that Branch has a secret past. He was once part of her favorite boyband phenomenon, BroZone, with his four brothers: Floyd (Sivan), John Dory (André), Spruce (Diggs) and Clay (Cudi).

BroZone disbanded when Branch was still a baby, as did the family, and Branch hasn’t seen his brothers since. But when Branch’s bro Floyd is kidnapped for his musical talents by a pair of nefarious pop-star villains —Velvet (Schumer) and Veneer (Rannells) — Branch and Poppy embark on a harrowing and emotional journey to reunite the other brothers and rescue Floyd from a fate even worse than pop-culture obscurity.

Walt Dohrn returned to direct Trolls Band Together after helming both past installments, with Trolls World Tour’s head of story Tim Heitz coming aboard as co-director, and Gina Shay returning as producer.

Netflix Releases Trailer for the Upcoming Anthology Series “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities”

Guillermo del Toro is sharing some scary stories.

Netflix has revealed the first trailer for “Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities,” an upcoming anthology series created by the 57-year-old Mexican Oscar-winning director of The Shape of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth.

Guillermo del ToroEach episode will tell a different horror story “curated” by del Toro, who hosts the series and introduces each episode.

Two of the episodes feature stories developed by del Toro, with different writers and directors taking on each episode.

Notable directors and writers who will contribute to the series include Jennifer Kent, David Pryor, Guillermo Navarro, Keith Thomas, Panos Cosmatos, Catherine Hardwicke, Vincenzo Natali and Ana Lily Amirpour (“A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night”).

The teaser shows a series of unsettling images, and reveals the cast list for the episodes.

Alongside previously announced names like Ben Barnes, Essie Davis, Crispin Glover and Andrew Lincoln, the teaser confirms that Eric André, Sofia Boutella, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Rupert Grint, Kate Micucci and Charlyne Yi will star in episodes of the show’s first season.

Other actors who were previously announced include F. Murray Abraham, Luke Roberts, Tim Blake Nelson, Hannah Galway, Glynn Turman, Elpidia Carrillo, Demetrius Grosse, Sebastian Roché, Peter Weller and David Hewlett.

Del Toro serves as co-showrunner of “Cabinet of Curiosities” with J. Miles Dale. The two executive produce alongside Gary Ungar. Regina Corrado co-executive produces.

A release date for “Cabinet of Curiosities” has not yet been announced.

Netflix to Release Fred Armisen’s Animated Comedy “The Mitchells vs. The Machines” in April

Fred Armisen is ready to save the world next month…

Netflix has announce an April 30 release date for its animated comedy, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, featuring the 54-year-old half-Venezuelan American actor/comedian among the voice cast.

Fred Armisen

In addition to Armisenm new cast members include Beck BennettChrissy Teigen and husband John Legend, Charlyne Yi, late-night host Conan O’Brien, Sasheer Zamata, Jay Pharaoh, Alex Hirsch, Griffin McElroy and relative newcomer Elle Mills.

Previously announced members of the Mitchells cast include Abbi Jacobson, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Eric André and Olivia Colman, among others.

Written and directed by Michael Rianda and Jeff RoweThe Mitchells vs. The Machines centers on Katie Mitchell (Jacobson), a young woman who is accepted into her dream film school. While driving to campus, she and her family come across a tech uprising, which leaves them to figure out how to save the world.

https://twitter.com/NetflixFilm/status/1374360501849833474

The film, previously known as Connected, was sold from Sony to Netflix in January.

Bobby Cannavale Joins Voice Cast of Illumination/Universal Pictures’ Animated Film “Sing 2”

Bobby Cannavale is getting musical…

The 50-year-old half-Cuban American Emmy-winning actor has joined the voice cast of Sing 2, the Illumination/Universal Pictures sequel to the 2016 animated hit.

Bobby Cannavale

Cannavale is among a roster of cast newcomers that includes U2 lead singer Bono, Pharrell Williams, Halsey, Letitia Wright, Eric Andre and Chelsea Peretti.

Reprising stars include Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johannsson, Taron Egerton, Tori Kelly and Nick Kroll.

The film will be ready for theatrical holiday release a year from now.

Sing 2 transcends the animation genre, immersing audiences in a fully realized world populated by complex characters, each with bold aspirations and relatable challenges,” said Illumination founder/CEO Chris Meledandri. “We are thrilled that the Sing franchise attracts such exceptional talent, and we are delighted to announce this extraordinary cast. The film is a musical celebration of the unrelenting pursuit of one’s dreams, no matter how large the challenges that stand in your way. At its core this movie speaks to the power of optimism and belief.”

In Sing 2, Buster Moon (McConaughey) and his cast of underdogs push their talents beyond their local theater, hoping for a shot to perform at the most prestigious venue in the entertainment capital of the world: The Crystal Tower Theater. To do that, though, they’ll first have to impress the powerful and egotistical entertainment mogul—and likely gangster—wolf Jimmy Crystal (Cannavale) and prove that they are worthy of his stage. Crystal will let them perform, on condition Buster convince the world’s most reclusive rock legend, lion Clay Calloway (Bono) out of self-imposed seclusion after the death of his wife and persuade him to perform in the show.

Williams plays Alfonso, an elephant ice-cream-truck owner who becomes the first crush of shy elephant Meena (Kelly). Halsey voices Jimmy Crystal’s teenage daughter, Porsche;  Wright plays a streetwise feline dancer who helps earnest gorilla Johnny (Egerton) regain his confidence while learning his choreography; Andre plays a self-important yak; and Peretti voices Jimmy Crystal’s haughty canine assistant and talent scout. Witherspoon returns as harried mother pig, Rosita; Johansson reprises as rocker porcupine Ash and Kroll returns as the pig artiste, Gunter.

The film is written and directed by Garth Jennings.