Anthony Mackie Wants To Play Panthro in a THUNDERCATS Movie
I’m actually shocked that we haven’t seen a live-action ThunderCats movie get made yet, but the film is in development! Godzilla Vs. Kong director Adam Wingard is developing the adaptation of the classic ‘80s cartoon series with screenwriter Simon Barrett.
I don’t know how far along development is or if it’s close to going into production, but when it gets to the casting point, Anthony Mackie would like to take on the role of Panthro. The actor recently appeared at Fan Expo New Orleans and while there, he told the fans:
"I pre-existed the whole Pokemon, anime [craze]. I wasn't into comic books, any of that stuff. So I was a big ThunderCats fan. My goal, when they make the ThunderCats movie, is that I want to be the blue dude. What's his name? Panthro! That's what I want to be when I grow up. If Kelsey Grammer can be Beast, I want to be Panthro. Both of us can be blue."
Ok, sure! I like Mackie and I think he’d be fine as Panthro. Watch Mackie talk about it below:
When previously talking about the upcoming adaptation of ThunderCats, Simon Barrett said:
"I will say this, our ThunderCats adaptation is going to be really, really cool. I don't think people are at all prepared for how long Adam Wingard has spent thinking about ThunderCats. They are not ready for Adam's ThunderCats movie. It is going to destroy."
Wingard previously opened up about the project as well and talked about the long road he’s been on trying to make it happen:
“Thundercats is a dream project for me. When I was in high school, I was obsessed with it. You’d think at that point, I was a little too old, that my years of obsession with Thundercats would be when I was six years old. My real obsession with Thundercats came in high school, the pinnacle of me deciding I wanted to be a filmmaker, and pushing in that direction…I actually spent most of my 10th grade year, I completely blew it. I didn’t pay attention in school, made terrible grades. And the reason? I was writing my Thundercats screenplay through my entire tenth grade year. And I was hand writing it.”
He went on to explain what he is looking to do with the film, saying:
“This is a huge passion thing for me. Nobody on this planet knows or has thought as much about Thundercats as I have. They gave me the reins. I saw this as an opportunity to do a new type of fantasy sci-fi spectacle film that people have never seen before. It’s got a rich mythology; the characters are fantastic. The colors. I want to do a Thundercats film that takes you back to that ‘80s aesthetic. I don’t want to reinvent the way they look; I want them to look like Thundercats. I don’t want to do it live action, either. I don’t want it to look like Cats, I don’t want those kinds of issues, no disrespect to that director whom I don’t mean to throw under the bus any more than everyone else has. I want to do a movie you’ve never seen before. A hybrid CGI film that has a hyper real look and somehow bridges the gap between cartoon and CGI. That’s the starting point, and Simon Barrett and I are getting into the script now.”
Hopefully this movie actually gets made! What do you think about Mackie in the role of Panthro? Also, don’t forget, Milla Jovovich wants to play Cheetah!