The stars have aligned for the voice cast of the upcoming CG-animated Ratchet & Clank movie, which is based on the PlayStation game franchise from Sony and Insomniac Games.
Rainmaker Entertainment Inc. President and Chief Creative Officer Michael Hefferon, and Blockade Entertainment CEO Brad Foxhoven, together with China’s CNHK Media Ltd., announced today the celebrity voice cast includes Paul Giamatti (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, San Andreas) as “Chairman Drek”; John Goodman (Monsters, Inc., Transformers: Age of Extinction) as “Grimroth”; Bella Thorne (Blended) as “Cora”; Rosario Dawson (Marvel’s Daredevil, Sin City) as “Elaris”; and the one and only Sylvester Stallone as “Victor”.
These stars join the voice talent from the video game franchise: James Arnold Taylor as “Ratchet”, David Kaye as “Clank”, DS9's Armin Shimerman as “Nefarious”, and Jim Ward as “Captain Qwark”.
The feature will be screening for international distributors this week in the Marché du Film in Cannes.
“The collaborative relationship between Rainmaker Entertainment, Sony PlayStation, Insomniac Games and all our partners has helped us to bring this massive game franchise to the big screen,” said Rainmaker Entertainment’s Hefferon in a statement. “Our outstanding celebrity talent together with the original voices from the game really bring these characters to life, and we are confident that Ratchet & Clank will delight fans with its authenticity and charm, while families everywhere will find a new family-friendly buddy duo to love.”
“We are honored and thrilled to have these actors join our cast,” added Blockade Entertainment’s Foxhoven. “Their unique voices, and the level of humor and emotion they bring to their roles will help to create some endearing and memorable characters in the film.”
"Everyone at Insomniac is thrilled that Ratchet & Clank will be shared in cinemas around the world with new and longtime fans alike," said Insomniac Games founder and CEO Ted Price. "It's been particularly exciting to collaborate closely with PlayStation, Rainmaker and Blockade on character design, story, animation, game asset sharing and marketing support to ensure an authentic Ratchet & Clank intergalactic adventure."
Former Insomniac Games writer TJ Fixman wrote the original screenplay draft, with director Kevin Munroe (TMNT) contributing significantly to the script. Ratchet & Clank is co-directed by Jericca Cleland, and produced by Blockade’s Foxhoven and VP of Development David Wohl along with Rainmaker’s SVP of Production and Operations, Kim Dent Wilder serving as Producer. Michael Hefferon serves as lead Executive Producer.
Ratchet & Clank tells the story of two unlikely heroes as they struggle to stop a vile alien named Chairman Drek from destroying every planet in the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet is the last of his kind – a foolhardy “lombax” who has grown up alone on a backwater planet with no family of his own. Clank is a pint-sized robot with more brains than brawn.
When the two stumble upon a dangerous weapon capable of destroying entire planets, they must join forces with a team of colorful heroes called The Galactic Rangers in order to save the galaxy. Along the way, they will learn about heroism, friendship, and the importance of discovering one’s own identity.
Sony Computer Entertainment America will release Ratchet & Clank, a re-imagination of the origin story and companion to the animated film, for the PlayStation4 along with the release of the film. The game is being developed by Insomniac Games.
The Ratchet & Clank movie has landed its North American distributor. Focus Features will release the animated video game adaptation domestically on April 29, 2016.
