Samuel L. Jackson has signed to co-star in Alcon Entertainment’s animated Garfield picture alongside Chris Pratt.
The film is based on Jim Davis’ classic comic strip of the same name, which follows a cynical and indolent orange cat named Garfield and his interactions with his owner, Jon Arbuckle, and his companion pet dog, Odie. Samuel L. Jackson is set to play Garfield’s father, Vic, in a new role, confirmed Deadline.
The script was developed by David Reynolds. The film is being animated and produced by DNEG Animation in collaboration with Alcon Entertainment. Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, as well as DNEG CEO Namit Malhotra and President Tom Jacomb, are producing alongside John Cohen and Steven P. Wegner, with Davis, Amuse’s Bridget McMeel, and Craig Sost executive producing.
Garfield previously appeared in the 2004 live-action/animated hybrid Garfield and its 2006 sequel, Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties. Bill Murray provided the voice of the eponymous cat in both of these films, which were produced by 20th Century Fox.
Samuel L. Jackson has five NAACP Image Awards and was just awarded an Honorary Oscar. In addition to a BAFTA Award, a BET Lifetime Achievement Award, the Cannes Film Festival’s prize for Best Supporting Actor, two Independent Spirit Awards, three Golden Globe nominations, an Emmy nomination, and a SAG Award nomination, the actor has acted in well over 100 films.
He’s a longtime collaborator of Spike Lee’s and has played Nick Fury in a number of Marvel projects, including the forthcoming Secret Invasion saga. Samuel L. Jackson is now starring in the Apple TV+ limited series The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, which is based on the novel by bestselling novelist Walter Mosley and executive produced by him.
The new film is produced by Alcon Entertainment and will be released by Sony Pictures.
