Broadway favorites Nathan Lane, Jenifer Lewis, and André De Shields have joined the previously announced Rachel Zegler in Alan Menken's forthcoming animated musical Spellbound.
The movie will also reunite Oscar winners Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem, who recently portrayed Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in the biopic Being the Ricardos. They will be joined by Jordan Fisher, last seen in Broadway's Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen, and returning to rom-coms in Netflix's Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between; and two-time Tony winner John Lithgow from the original Broadway productions of M. Butterfly and The Columnist, and the Broadway revival of All My Sons.
The movie is created in collaboration between Apple Original Films and Skydance Animation, and will follow Zegler's Princess Ellian as she embarks on a mission to save her kingdom after a spell turns her parents into monsters. Kidman and Bardem will be voicing the princess's parents, the Queen of Lumbria and King of Lumbria. The cast continues with Lithgow and Lewis as royal advisors Minister Bolinar and Minister Nazara Prone; Lane and De Shields as The Oracles of the Sun and Moon; and Fisher as a young nomad named Callan.
Three-time Tony winner Lane boasts an impressive resume on stage and screen. Broadway credits include Guys and Dolls, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and The Producers—the latter of which he revisited in the movie adaptation. Lewis, who starred in Broadway's Eubie! and Hairspray, has starred on screen in the movies Beaches and Sister Act, and most recently, television series Black-ish and I Love That For You.
De Shields starred in the original Broadway productions of The Full Monty, Play On!, Ain't Misbehavin', and the title role in The Wiz. He recently played his final performance as Hermes in Hadestown, a role which he created and won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical .
Zegler first found fame through her online presence within the musical theatre community before landing her breakthrough role in Steven Spielberg's adaptation of West Side Story, playing Maria. She has since been cast in the forthcoming DC movie Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Disney's upcoming live-action adaptation of Snow White.
Spellbound will be directed by Shrek's Vicky Jenson and features a script by Lauren Hynek, Elizabeth Martin, and Linda Woolverton. It will include an original score by Menken, known for composing the music for The Little Mermaid and the Tony Award-winning adaptation of Newsies. The project is a reunion for Menken and Woolverton, who previously worked on the animated film, stage, and live-action film adaptation of Beauty and the Beast.
The musical feature lyrics by frequent Menken collaborator Glenn Slater, with Chris Montan serving as executive music producer, and John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and David Lipman serving as producers.
