Chris Pratt and Tom Holland have both had a very happy relationship with Disney over the last few years, with the former cementing his blockbuster credentials with his turn as Star-Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy films and the latter instantly becoming many people’s favorite Spider-Man. Of course, the pair crossed paths in Avengers: Infinity War, and though they didn’t get a huge amount of time to hang out, they still shared some obvious chemistry. That might be why Disney/Pixar have now cast them as the two leads in their just-announced fantasy adventure Onward.
The pair will play two elven brothers living in a fantasy world that’s apparently gotten a little boring. Despite being magical creatures, they live in dull suburbia and crave a little adventure in their lives. Director Dan Scanlon explained that the genesis of the movie was his family history, saying the following:
“At Pixar we try to create stories that come from some kind of personal truth. This film was inspired by my own relationship with my brother.”
Joining them in the cast will be Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer, though we as yet have no idea who they’ll be playing.
Onward sounds like an interesting proposition for Pixar, as they haven’t ever done a straight fantasy movie. The closest they’ve gotten was Brave, but though that contained several magical elements, it felt otherwise rooted in the reality of medieval life in the Scottish Highlands. My bet is that they’ve avoided this kind of territory in the past for fear of being accused of copying the Shrek films – as bored suburban elves sounds vaguely like something in their wheelhouse.
It’ll be much more familiar territory for the studio next though, with Toy Story 4 hitting cinemas in June. I’m always a little disappointed whenever Pixar put out a sequel simply because I really enjoy the way they conceptualize new worlds (as in Coco). Then again, I had the same suspicions about Toy Story 3 and that had me blubbering like a schoolgirl the first time I saw it.
But I digress. Onward is currently scheduled to release on March 6th, 2020 and as soon as we learn more, we’ll be sure to let you know.
