Mission: Impossible stars Angela Bassett and Ving Rhames recently signed up to star in one of Netflix’s most exciting releases for 2022. The two stars will voice characters in the upcoming Wendell & Wild, a new animated film also starring the Key and Peele duo Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. The movie is directed by Henry Selick, the animation legend who directed The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline.
Netflix announced Rhames and Bassett’s casting in a brief video on Monday. The movie stars Key and Peele in the title roles, alongside Lyric Ross, James Hong, Tamara Smart, Natalie Martinez, Tantoo Cardinal, Gabrielle Dennis, Igal Naor, David Harewood, Marine Peake and Ramona Young. Sam Zelaya, Seema Virdi, and Gary Gatewood are also voicing characters.
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Wendell & Wild was written by Peele and Selick, reports Deadline. The story centers on demon brothers Wendell (Key) and Wild (Peele), who ask 13-year-old Kat Elliot (Ross) to summon them to the Land of the Living. This starts a strange and comedic adventure that can only be pulled off by a master of stop-motion animation.
The project is Selick’s first directing effort since Coraline opened in 2009. Coraline was nominated for the Best Animated Feature Film Oscar. Selick is producing with Ellen Goldsmith-Vein for The Gotham Group, while Peele and Win Rosenfeld are producing for Monkeybaw. The executive producers are Lindsay Williams and Eddie Gamarra of The Gotham Group; and Kamil Oshundara and Ian Cooper of Monkeypaw. Bruno Coulais, who also worked on Coraline, wrote the score. Wendell & Wild is expected to hit Netflix in October.
Bassett and Rhames both worked on Mission: Impossible – Fallout. They are both expected to appear in the upcoming seventh M: I movie, which will finally be released in 2023. Bassett also recently filmed Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which Marvel will release on Nov. 11. Rhames recently filmed The Locksmith, a thriller starring Ryan Philippe and Kate Bosworth.
Wendell & Wild is the second of two big projects coming from Peele in 2022. His third film as director, the mysterious Nope, will be released by Universal Pictures on July 22. The movie stars Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as California ranchers who witness a strange event. Peele won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Get Out, which also earned him Best Picture and Best Director nominations. He was also nominated for Best Picture as a producer on BlacKkKlansman. Key and Peele’s Comedy Central series won the 2016 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.
