Might Pixar’s upcoming sequel Finding Dory take its characters to the mean streets of Baltimore? Almost absolutely not, but good luck getting that image out of your head now that it’s been revealed that The Wire co-stars Idris Elba and Dominic West have both signed on to lend their voices to new characters in the Finding Nemo follow-up.
West, who is starring in Showtime’s ambitious fall series The Affair, dropped the news during an interview with Shortlist, simply teasing:
“We’re both in the sequel to ‘Finding Nemo,’ so we were recording that.”
No word yet on which characters the actors will be playing, but Finding Dory is set to take place at least in part along the coast of California, where scatter-brained regal tang Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) reunites with many important people from her past one year after the events of the first film. Along for the ride are Marlin, Nemo and the members of the Tank Gang.
Albert Brooks is returning to voice Marlin, though it’s unclear whether Alexander Gould, now grown up, will be reprising the role of Nemo, and Vicki Lewis and Willem Dafoe are back as Deb (and Flo, her reflection) and Gill. New additions to the cast include Eugene Levy and Diane Keaton as Dory’s parents, Charlie and Jenny; Ty Burrell as a beluga whale named Bailey; and Kaitlin Olson as a killer whale who is Dory’s adopted sister.
It’s exciting to see that Elba and West, two formidable actors with distinctive voices, are on board for this sequel. Both have been quietly ascending to star status in Hollywood, with the former leading this week’s No Good Deed and the latter earning raves for his role in Pride, but Finding Dory should earn them fans in a completely different age demographic.
Finding Dory opens June 17th, 2016.
