Paramount Animation Partners With WWE To Develop The Will Arnett-Starring ‘Rumble’
Let’s get ready to…well, you know the drill. But there’s not anything routine about Paramount Animation, the still-fairly untested animation division of Paramount Pictures behind films likeWonder ParkandSherlock Gnomes. But Paramount Animation is starting to kick things into gear in 2020, partnering up with WWE Studios for a new film calledRumble.
The Wrapreports that Paramount is teaming up with WWE Studios to develop the animated comedy filmRumble, which is set to starWill Arnett,Terry Crews, andGeraldine Viswanathanalongside WWE wrestlersBecky LynchandRoman Reigns.Here is the logline for the film, according to The Wrap:
The movie is set to be directed byHamish Grieveand produced by Mark Bakshi and Brad Booker, with Susan Levison and Richard Lowell serving as executive producers for WWE Studios.Rumbleis Paramount Animation’s latest effort to ramp up their output in 2020, with other films on the studio’s slate being the live-action/animated hybridsSonic the Hedgehog, The Spongebob Movie: It’s a Wonderful Sponge, andClifford the Big Red Dog. In the eight years since its founding, the Paramount animation division has only released four films, none of which reached major critical success. Its biggest hit was its first animated film, 2015’s 3D-animated/live-action hybridThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, which grossed $325 million worldwide. But it seems like Paramount is beginning to put stock in its animated division, even if the upcoming slate doesn’t seem quite that promising — with the exception ofSonic, which has already reached viral meme status. (But not for the best reasons.)
Perhaps a star-studded venture with animated comedy stalwart Will Arnett leading the cast could give Paramount Animation the boost it needs. Arnett has proven to be a gifted voice actor in films likeThe Lego Movieand theLego Batmanfranchises.THRreports thatTony Danza,Stephen A. Smith,Jimmy Tatro,Ben Schwartz, and famed boxing announcerMichael Bufferare also going to be a part of the cast. Meanwhile, WWE Studios continued its expansion into Hollywood with the well-received MGM biopicFighting With My Familyfrom earlier this year.
