One was starting to worry about the fate of the Robert Downey Jr. post-Marvel project, Dolittle. Thank goodness, the first trailer from Universal has arrived.
After all, this enormous epic (i.e. uber expensive) movie is arriving on screens in a matter of months. From what we can see from this first teaser, Downey is a natural in the iconic role—but was there any doubt to that fact? I mean, the British accent is old hat to the superstar, what with his work on Sherlock Holmes.
And the look of the feature is equally as impressive as the casting coup. The story of a doctor who can talk to animals has always endeared itself to mass audiences—recent with the hit Eddie Murphy film.
The story finds the physician and veterinarian living in Victorian Britain. He has tapped by Queen Victoria (the always awesome Jessie Buckley of Wild Rose fame) to scour the earth in search of a cure for her mysterious ailments. He does all of this while trying to keep his “talks to animals” a secret.
Downey is joined by the most stunning of casts, most provide the voice for the talking animals. They are Emma Thompson and Antonio Banders with voice work from Tom Holland, Kumail Nanjiani, Rami Malek, Octavia Spencer and Marion Cotillard.
Dolittle hits theaters January 17, 2020. Although that release date makes me nervous. January is traditionally the dumping ground for movies the studios want to bury. Can’t think that Universal would want to bury this puppy, it cost $175 million to make—all before marketing costs.