This weekend we were treated to some glorious news: for his next film, Wes Anderson is returning to the world of stop-motion animation. Given that Anderson’s prior outing in this medium, Fantastic Mr. Fox, is an out-and-out masterpiece, this development understandably had many giddy (myself included), and that’s without even factoring in that the film is about dogs. Well, prepare to be even more enthused.

During a weekly jazz show with his band, Jeff Goldblum revealed last night (via Nerdist) that he will be staring in Anderson’s stop-motion animated dog picture alongside Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, and Bob Balaban. Moreover, the quartet will be playing a pack of dogs, and Goldbum mentioned that the film will be “Japanese-inspired.” Of these four actors, Cranston is the only one who will be working with Anderson for the first time. Goldblum will be making his third outing after The Life Aquatic and The Grand Budapest Hotel, and and it will also be third co-collaboration between Norton and Balaban with Anderson, following Grand Budapest Hotel and Moonrise Kingdom.


Clearly the experience of working with Wes Anderson is a delight, as evidenced by not only the quantity of regular players he has in his ensemble, but also the quality. Cranston should make for a swell addition, and the prospect of seeing Anderson work his magic on a dog pack story is downright exciting.

Goldblum most recently wrapped the action sequel Independence Day: Resurgence, and Cranston has been making a slew of interesting choices following the series wrap on Breaking Bad. Norton, meanwhile, appears to be making a little habit about lending his voice to animated features. In addition to this Anderson picture, he also lends a voice to Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill's R-rated animated comedy Sausage Party.

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Image via Fox Searchlight