When Disney tries something new, the studio goes hard. After the success of Maleficent, we've seen a lot of live action movies come down the Disney pipeline, and Dumbo is one of the up-and-coming projects. With that in mind, Disney is getting its casting together for the new movie, and the movie has signed Going In Style actor Alan Arkin to play a very human character in the project, a man named J Griffin Remington.
Alan Arkin has been signed on to play a brand new character in the world of Dumbo and that character, J Griffin Remington, is being described as a "Wall Street tycoon," per Variety. If that sounds unfamiliar, it's because Dumbo will be changing quite a bit about the original animated movie. The original movie followed an elephant who is tormented for his big ears, who effectively loses his mother (who was trying to protect him from his tormentors), and who eventually learns to fly, gaining success in the venture. The new movie will have far more of a human component and will include new characters. It will also seemingly focus more on Dumbo's flying, as he will become a media sensation after learning his ears will help to make him famous, which is really mostly the endpoint of the animated venture. No word yet on if Dumbo will get drunk of champagne and hallucinate in the upcoming film.
It's only been a few short weeks since Disney announced a slew of names were being added to the upcoming Tim Burton Dumbo venture. At D23, Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito were all announced as cast members in the live action Dumbo. Farrell's playing a character named Holt Farrier, Keaton's playing businessman V.A. Vandevere and DeVito's playing circus owner Max Medici. Eva Green has also been cast, and will play an aerial performer named Colette Marchant; she and Keaton's Vandevere will be in cahoots to make Dumbo a flying success. The movie will mark the first time that Tim Burton and Michael Keaton have worked together since Batman Returns, which is certainly exciting. Other actors include Joseph Gatt, Nico Parker, Finley Hobbins, Roshan Seth, Sharon Rooney and Douglas Reith..
Disney has a lot of live action projects in the works right now. The last to hit theaters was Beauty and the Beast, which did very well in theaters, and the House of Mouse is currently also prepping to film Jon Favreau's The Lion King for a 2019 release. Dumbo is currently expected to be released in 2019, as well. Also in the works are Disney's Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and Mulan.
Clearly, Dumbo is currently rounding out its cast and getting off the ground for its March 29, 2019 theatrical release. We'll let you know as soon as the live action venture moves forward into production. In the meantime, you can take a look at all the live action projects Disney has coming up.
