The Lilo & Stitch live-action remake has made a huge casting announcement with the addition of The Hangover's Zach Galifianakis. The upcoming film from Marcel the Shell with Shoes On director Dean Fleischer Camp is the latest live-action update to classic animated works from the Disney canon. It will bring to life the story of the 2002 film, which followed a young Hawaiian girl named Lilo (Daveigh Chase) who adopted what she thought was a dog that turns out to be a destructive genetic experiment gone wrong that has escaped from a facility in outer space.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, Zach Galifianakis has been cast in a lead role in the Lilo & Stich live-action film. The actor, who is best known for his roles in the Hangover film franchise and the oddball comedy series Baskets, hasn't held a role in a live-action feature since 2019's The Sunlit Night. While the role itself is unspecified, it joins the upcoming Winner and The Beanie Bubble in the star's pivot back to major live-action film roles.
What Role Could Zach Galifianakis Play in Lilo & Stitch?
Since he is the first actor officially cast, this could imply that Galifianakis will be providing the voice for Stitch. This wouldn't necessarily be an unusual move, as comic actors have provided the voices of famously adorable characters in the past including 30 Rock's Scott Adsit playing Baymax in Disney's Big Hero 6. However, it has been rumored that the original film's co-director Chris Sanders, who voiced Stitch in 2002, will be returning to the role instead.
As a white man joining a cast of characters that is largely driven by women and people of color, there are only a couple other roles that would seem to fit Galifianakis. The most likely suspects would be either of the two aliens who come to Earth to attempt and recapture Stitch. The first is Pleakley, originally voiced by Kevin McDonald, a wacky alien who has an overinflated estimation of his own knowledge of Earth customs.
The second option would be Jumba, originally voiced by the late David Ogden Stiers, the mad scientist who created Stitch and eventually warms to Lilo and her family. Either role would seem to be a good fit for Galifianakis' comic capabilities, playing into both his odder sensibilities, as well as his penchant for physical comedy. As more of the cast of Lilo & Stitch begins to be filled in, it will likely become more clear what role the star will be taking.
Source: THR