Back to the Future director Robert Zemeckis’ 3-D remake of the Beatles’ famous animated Yellow Submarine has found its actors to voice the band, reports rollingstone.com.
The Princess Bride star Cary Elwes leads the cast as the voice behind George Harrison, with Dean Lennox Kelly voicing John Lennon, Peter Serafinowicz portraying Paul McCartney and Adam Campbell playing Ringo Starr. All four actors are reportedly in negotiations to appear in the Disney film.
For the performance footage needed in Zemeckis’ take on Yellow Submarine, the director has recruited “The Ultimate Beatles Band,” the Fab Four. However, producers for Yellow Submarine have secured the rights to the Beatles’ music, so the songs featured in the film will be the voices of the real Fab Four, not the tribute band. By having actors play the Beatles in the film, Zemeckis is actually keeping in tradition with the original version, which also hired voice actors in place of the actual foursome. The Beatles themselves only appeared in the film’s live-action epilogue.
Zemeckis was interested in having the two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, contribute to the Yellow Submarine remake. But with actors being cast in their roles, it is currently unclear whether Zemeckis, who is writing the screenplay, still has plans for the real pair.
Aside from his performance in the classic film Princess Bride, Elwes, who will play George Harrison, is also known for starring in Saw and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Lennox Kelly, playing John Lennon, also stepped into the role of Robin Hood in a BBC series based on the famous character. Serafinowicz, playing Paul McCartney, is known by comedy fans as the roommate from Shaun of the Dead and the guy who stole Simon Pegg’s girlfriend in Spaced. Campbell, rounding up the cast and playing Ringo Starr, has appeared in Epic Movie and Date Movie.
Zemeckis has reportedly said that he hopes the release of Yellow Submarine will coincide with the London Olympics in 2012. A stage musical version of the new film is also speculated to be brewing.
