Annecy: Kelsey Grammer, Ron Perlman To Star in Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Trollhunters’
ANNECY — Kelsey Grammer (“Boss,” “Frasier”) and Ron Perlman (“Sons of Anarchy,” “Hand of God”) are attached to star in Guillermo del Toro’s “Trollhunters,” his upcoming and much-awaited animated TV series produced by DreamWorks Animation Television for Netflix.
The announcement was made June 15 at France’s Annecy Festival, the Cannes of animation, as Del Toro delivers a masterclass on his career which is expected to feature a two minute sizzle-reel from “Trollhunters,” plus some 10 minutes of clips and scenes from the series.
Billed as an epic family event series, and indeed marking Del Toro’s first work for kids and families, “Trollhunters” will bow on Netflix in December 2016. Created and executive-produced by Del Toro, Trollhunters is “set in the fictional suburb of Arcadia,” where Jim, and his two best friends “make a startling discovery that beneath their hometown lies a hidden battle between good trolls and bad, the outcome of which will impact their lives forever,” DreamWorks Animation and Netflix said in a statement on Wednesday.
Anton Yeltsin, Chekov in “Star Trek,” voices Jim, who discovers a mysterious amulet; Grammar limns a kindly troll who helps Jim; and Perlman will provide the voice of Bular, which the series makers describe as “a sinister troll who targets Jim and his friends for battle.”
The cast renews the collaboration between Del Toro and Perlman, maybe the most iconic of the director’s regular actors, having played the lead in 2002’s “Hellboy” and 2008’s “Hellboy II: the Golden Army,” two early mid-career Del Toro movies which consolidated the Mexican helmer’s reputation for spectacle, an empathy with outcasts, and a desire to mix genre, physical effects and ancient mythology with complex ethical fables.
Expectation is high to see the scope and scale which Del Toro brings to a near obsession – he is the author of a novel, “Trollhunters” – in a limited series format, having tackled vampires in the FX Network-aired “The Strain.”
DreamWorks and Netflix, for their part, promise “stunning visuals and ambitious, complex storytelling” which “raises the bar for family series as a global must-see viewing event for the entire family.”
Another large question is how Del Toro will have tackled the animation. “Trollhunters” is produced by DreamWorks Animation for Netflix. Guillermo del Toro, Marc Guggenheim (“Arrow,” “Legends of Tomorrow”) and Christina Steinberg (“Rise of the Guardians,” “National Treasure”) serve as executive producers. Dan Hageman (“The Lego Movie”) and Kevin Hageman (“The Lego Movie”) are co-executive producers; Chad Hammes (“Dragons: Race to the Edge”) is another producer.
More details of “Trollhunters” are expected to be revealed during Del Toro’s June 15 masterclass which has rapidly acquired the status of a must-attend event. Such has been the demand from journalists at Annecy for interviews with Del Toro that the Festival has scheduled a Del Toro press conference for June 16.
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