Ewan McGregor confirmed he'll be voicing the iconic character of Jiminy Cricket in Guillermo del Toro's upcoming adaptation of Pinocchio. McGregor, who was most recently seen on screen as the villain Black Mask in Birds of Prey (And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), is best known for playing Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequels, a role he'll be reprising in the upcoming Disney+ series.
Del Toro's Pinocchio adaptation was languishing in development limbo for a number of years before it was picked up by Netflix in late 2018. The movie, which del Toro has said is a passion project, will be stop-motion animation, and is being made at the same time as Disney's live-action remake. McGregor's casting was revealed by David Bradley, who is voicing Gepetto, earlier this year, but the character McGregor would be playing was unknown at the time. Speculation was that the Scottish actor might be voicing Pinocchio, given his star status.
But now, in an interview with ACE Universe, McGregor confirmed he'll play the iconic role of Jiminy Cricket. In a wide-ranging chat, McGregor speaks about the projects he's currently working on, and mentions that he was in the process of recording his lines for del Toro's Pinocchio before the coronavirus shutdown, and confirmed he'll voice the character of Jiminy Cricket.
McGregor goes on to say he'd started recording lines for the movie before he started working on the Netflix TV show Halston earlier this year, and confirms that the dialogue for his role is "sort of done." However, he then drops the bombshell that what he hasn't recorded yet is a song that "may or may not" be in the movie, something he says he's not sure he is "at liberty to discuss yet."
The character of Jiminy Cricket was central to the plot of Disney's animated film, opening the movie with his rendition of "When You Wish Upon A Star," a song which has since become synonymous with Disney. McGregor doesn't confirm anything, but it is likely that he is referring to this song with his tease. It's an interesting reveal, as del Toro has repeatedly said his version of the film will be a little darker than the Disney original. That would lead one to think that songs wouldn't suit the tone of his adaptation, but apparently that's incorrect. It's also unclear if del Toro would have permission to use the song since the rights to it would presumably belong to Disney.
It will be interesting to see if McGregor does in fact end up singing the classic track. He's sung previously in movies, most famously in Moulin Rouge, and has proven he has a good singing voice. Whether he can do justice to such an iconic song, though, remains to be seen. Del Toro's Pinocchio is expected to land on Netflix in 2021, but no release date has been confirmed by the streaming service.
Source: ACE Universe