Robert Downey Jr. is talking to animals in the first trailer for the long-awaited Dolittle trailer. The movie is Downey Jr.’s first major role since this year’s massively successful Avengers: Endgame. Additionally, this is the actor’s first non-Marvel Cinematic Universe project since 2014’s The Judge. Taking on the role of Tony Stark for the past eleven years has been an all-consuming journey for Downey Jr., though he was remarkably able to make Dolittle during that time.
The Dolittle trailer finds Robert Downey Jr. as the famous Dr. going through some rough patches and showing his magical connection with the animals. Fans have been waiting a long time to see RDJ in this role and it doesn’t look like he’ll be letting anyone down. Visually, the movie looks like it will have to be seen on the big screen to truly appreciate all of the special effects and CGI. With that being said, there was a decent amount of trouble behind-the-scenes, which involved some extensive reshoots and a complete overhaul in April of this year. The studio reportedly dropped over $175 million on the movie, so expectations are going to be through the roof.
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Dolittle features the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle, famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England, after the death of his wife. The Dr. hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his variety of exotic animals for company. That all changes when the young queen falls gravely ill, which finds the reluctant Dolittle sailing on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.
Dr. John Dolittle is joined on his new quest with a variety of different animals, including an anxious gorilla, an enthusiastic, but bird-brained duck, a bickering duo of a cynical ostrich, an upbeat polar bear, and a headstrong parrot, who serves as Dolittle‘s most trusted advisor and confidante. In addition to Robert Downey Jr., Dolittle stars Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Jim Broadbent, and features additional voice performances from Rami Malek, John Cena, Emma Thompson, Kumail Nanjiani, Octavia Spencer, Harry Collett, Marion Cotillard, Frances de la Tour, Carmen Ejogo, Ralph Fiennes, Selena Gomez, Tom Holland, and Craig Robinson.
Dolittle was first announced back in 2017 and it’s expected to be one of the first big movies of 2020. Robert Downey Jr. announced the voice cast for the project back in 2018 and finally shared the first poster just this weekend. It’s not clear what changes were made to the movie earlier this year, but it was reportedly a much different movie before the reshoots. Regardless, it looks like the studio has a much-needed hit on their hands when the movie finally hits theaters in January. The Dolittle trailer comes to us from the Universal Pictures YouTube channel.
Writer for Movieweb since 2017. Enjoys playing Catan when not writing about superheroes and Star Wars.
