Timeless Films and Constantin Film have announced that Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee Felicity Jones (Rogue One, The Theory of Everything), Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Maze Runner trilogy, Love Actually), Primetime Emmy Award nominee Patrick Stewart (Logan, Star Trek) and Golden Globe Award nominee Freddie Highmore (Bates Motel, The Good Doctor) will join Tomer Eshed’s Dragon Rider alongside Meera Syal (Doctor Strange), Sanjeev Bhaskar (Absolutely Anything), and Nonso Anozie (Cinderella).
Written by Johnny Smith (Gnomeo & Juliet) and based on Cornelia Funke’s bestselling novel of the same name — which has sold more than 3 million copies worldwide — the animated family adventure Dragon Rider trails an unlikely trio of heroes — young silver dragon Firedrake (Brodie-Sangster), Sorrel (Jones) the mountain brownie and a boy called Ben (Highmore) — as they embark on an epic adventure and battle against a vicious, dragon-killing machine called Nettlebrand (Stewart) to find the ‘Rim of Heaven’.
“Felicity, Thomas, Patrick, Freddie, Meera, Sanjeev, and Nonso, are extraordinary actors whose unique voices will bring to life our wonderful animated characters. Director Tomer Eshed is creating an amazing visual world full of dragons and magical creatures and we’re delighted to be re-uniting with Constantin Film, a production and distribution powerhouse to deliver another hit animated, family film to buyers,” said Timeless Films Chairman and CEO, Ralph Kamp.
Constantin Film CEO Martin Moszkowicz added: “I am thrilled to see so many great artists joining Tomer Eshed and his creative team for the next outstanding animated family film event from Constantin Film.”
Timeless Films has already sealed a raft of deals worldwide on Dragon Rider and is continuing sales heading into Cannes. The film is due to be delivered Fall 2019 and will be produced by Constantin Film’s Martin Moszkowicz and Oliver Berben together with the co-producers Cyborn and RiseFX along with the team of Lumatic. Timeless Films is handling worldwide sales.
Jones received a best actress Oscar nomination for her work in The Theory of Everything and starred as Jyn Erso in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and in Inferno opposite Tom Hanks. She most recently wrapped production on Mimi Leder’s On the Basis of Sex. She stars next in The Aeronauts for Amazon Studios and is attached to Universal’s upcoming Swan Lake adaptation.
Brodie-Sangster is best known for his role as Sam in Love Actually and his lead roles in hit films Nanny McPhee, The Maze Runner series, Netflix’s Godless, and HBO’s Game of Thrones. He has previously leant his voice to Thunderbirds Are Go alongside Rosamund Pike and as Ferb Fletcher in Disney’s Phineas and Ferb.
Stewart is best known for his roles as Professor Xavier in the X-Men films and Captain Picard in seven seasons of Star Trek: The Next Generation. He has previously leant his voice in TBS’ American Dad!.
Highmore received a best actor Golden Globe nomination for his work in ABC’s The Good Doctor and has starred in Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and as the infamous Norman Bates on A&E’s Bates Motel.
Syal received a BAFTA nomination for her work in The Kumars at No. 42 and has appeared in countless film and television projects including Paddington 2, Riviera, Doctor Strange and Doctor Who. She most recently wrapped production on Disney’s Patrick.
Bhaskar received a BAFTA nomination, A Peabody and Two International Emmys for The Kumars At No 42, a series he created, wrote and starred in and has appeared in Paddington 2, Arthur Christmas and Absolutely Anything opposite Simon Pegg and Kate Beckinsale.
Anozie has appeared in Liam Neeson starrer The Grey, Cinderella, and Conan the Barbarian and is currently in production on Disney’s long-awaited Artemis Fowl opposite Judi Dench.
Timeless Films most recently distributed Monster Family and Rock Dog from Academy Award-winning writer/director Ash Brannon. Previous titles have included Dennis Gansel’s Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver, which Warner Brothers released in Germany over the Easter Weekend.
(Photo Credit: Getty Images)
