Although not too much information has surfaced about it, there’s been a lot of interest in a new version of The Wind In The Willows, partly because it’s eschewing CG and going for live-action/animatronics and partly because Peter Jackson’s Weta special effects company is working on it.
Now Variety reports that the movie has found its first star, and that Ricky Gervais will be voicing Mole in the movie. Director Ray Griggs says, “It’s a natural fit to have an iconic British actor star in an oconic British tale. I Had Ricky in mind for this role from the inception of the project.”
The film, loosely based on Kenneth Grahame’s classic book and with a screenplay by Bill Marsilii, will follow a sinister plot that threatens to destroy the uneasy truce between the peaceful animals of the Willows and mankind, with Mole, Rat, Badger and Toad all involved.
Pre-production starts this spring in New Zealand, and if the timeline announced last year is still being followed, it’ll arrive in cinemas spring 2012. Weta certainly going to be busy, as it’s going to have to fit this round The Hobbit, which should also be shooting this year.