It's been about a month since Angelina Jolie said she was taking a break from the director's chair to focus on her acting career once again. We've known for a while she has Maleficent 2 on her upcoming schedule, but this week we've also learned that Angelina Jolie has another acting gig in the works, and this one will connect her to the world of children's fiction. Angelina Jolie will voice the elephant Stella in Disney's adaptation of The One and Only Ivan.
The One and Only Ivan centers on a Big Top Mall that features an elephant named Stella, a Gorilla called Ivan and a dog named Bob. A baby elephant named Ruby eventually comes into the fold, and Ivan must protect her from the abuse and other harm going on at the Big Top Mall. The book was a Newbery winner and also marked a big departure from the norm for author K.A. Applegate who is mostly known for fantasy series like Animorphs and Everworld.
Angelina Jolie will be voicing the older elephant Stella in The One and Only Ivan movie, per THR. Stella is an elephant with a long memory who is friends with Ivan. Unlike the gorilla, she can remember quite a bit about her life prior to coming the Big Top Mall, and she dreams of a better life for herself and her friends at a zoo.
The One and Only Ivan started coming together over at Disney more swiftly last spring after the project first went into development way back in 2014. Now it seems to be moving forward at a rapid pace, with Angelina Jolie on board as both a producer and a voice actor in the movie. So far, we don't know a ton about the other voice actors in the movie, but we do know that Me Before You director Thea Sharrock is helming this project. The One and Only Ivan will join A Wrinkle in Time over at Disney as another upcoming book adaptation.
The One and Only Ivan is also supposed to be similar to a lot of the Disney live-action remakes the company has been putting out over the past few years, with a mix of live action and CGI animals. Jolie should have pretty good experience working on this sort of project. Although she plays a live-action character in Maleficent, she should be fairly used to the process Disney uses to bring these sorts of characters to life on the big screen. Plus, she's previously done voice work for other movies, including the Kung Fu Panda and Shark Tale.
We'll keep you updated as Angelina Jolie adds more projects to her resume. In the meantime, Disney has a slew of these live action and CGI projects in the works, and you can check out what is coming with our full guide.
