Frozen 2 was a dead cert the moment the original opened to rave reviews and an obscenely large haul at the box office, followed by an even more ridiculous merchandising feeding frenzy.
The Disney animated film became an instant classic, delighting children worldwide and tormenting their parents with endless repetitions of “Let It Go.” Now, we’re hearing the first glimmers of who’s to join the cast of what’s sure to be one of the biggest films of 2019, and it’s very exciting indeed.
Deadline reports that Evan Rachel Wood, the Emmy nominated star of Westworld and Sterling K. Brown, also Emmy nominated for his role in This Is Us, have boarded the pic. You’ll probably be familiar with Brown from his appearance in Black Panther, too, where he played the doomed father of Killmonger, assassinated by the previous Black Panther in the opening scene of the movie.
There’s no word as to who these actors have been cast as, but they’ll join returning Frozen stars Idina Menzel as Elsa, Kristen Bell as Anna and Josh Gad as surprisingly tolerable, comedy sidekick snowman Olaf. Behind the (virtual) camera will be the original directors Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee – with Lee recently assuming the role of Chief Creative Officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios after John Lasseter got the boot.
The big question is whether Disney can catch lightning in a bottle twice. Frozen exceeded all expectations – it’s easy to imagine it becoming a children’s standard in the same way classics like Dumbo, The Little Mermaid and The Lion King are. But the studio’s catalogue is littered with sequels that fell very short of their predecessors, so no doubt they’ll be pulling out every possible stop to ensure this is more Toy Story 2 and less Mulan 2 (seriously, Mulan 2 is awful).