Fans of the Monday-hating orange cat known as Garfield were treated to some shocking news Monday that none-other-than Chris Pratt is going to voice in a new movie the beloved comic book character, whose ubiquity has only spread over its more than 40-year history to the annals of memes, darkly gothic fan art reinterpretations and delightfully crummy cart-based videogames.
Many fans were outraged that Bill Murray, who voiced the character for two animated films in the mid-2000s, wouldn’t be returning for the role.
The film is being produced by Alcon Entertainment, distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures, written by the oscar-nominated Finding Nemo screenwriter David Reynolds and directed by Chicken Little‘s Mark Dindal. The pair previously worked on the Disney film The Emperor’s New Groove.
As you can see below, the outcry from fans about the lack of the Saturday Night Live star taking up the role again was palpable.
Some have even been playing with the idea that Murray himself is enraged at the idea of being recast.
The truth of the matter, however, is that Murray only agreed to the role because he mistakenly thought the film 2004 Garfield film was penned by Ethan Coen — of the famed filmmaker duo the Coen bros. — when it was actually written by the similarly named Etan Cohen. The actor even poked fun at acting the role of the lasagna-loving cat in Zombieland.
As you can see, there’s no such thing as a coincidence.
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