Rick Moranis (Ghostbusters, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids) has signed to play the role of Puddleglum in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair. The role will reunite Moranis with director Joe Johnston, who also directed Moranis in Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (1989) for Walt Disney Pictures.
Moranis hasn’t acted in a feature film in many years leading many to believe he had retired from acting. He disputed that, saying he would act again if a good script went his direction.
With Joe Johnston set to retire after directing The Silver Chair, Moranis jumped at the chance to work with the director for the last time, while returning acting in a role that is almost too perfect for him.
Moranis will be on set doing motion capture, similar to Andy Serkis’ work capturing Gollum for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
We’re very excited to see Rick Moranis acting again, even if the character will be mostly computer generated. His performance, however, will shine through.
Read more, including quotes from Rick Moranis and Joe Johnston here.
The silver chair will be very awesome if they fallow book closely should be a great triumph in film as over whelming as all Narnia film to this point
Rick Moranis would be a surprising choice, but an exciting possibility.
It would be a great comeback for Rick Moranis, if he was cast as Puddleglum in The Silver Chair!
I know it seems insane, but hear me out:
I’m Narnia fan who feels that there’s no actor on earth who could play Puddleglum the Marshwiggle the way I imagined him to be – much less a well-known American/English actor.
That being said, Moranis could play a version of Puddleglum who is older and more world-weary than is described in the book, a character who seems both sad and scared – not to mention very, very pessimistic. But instead of playing his trademark anxious-nerd guy that audiences loved in the past, Rick Moranis could by play into those traits to subvert them, creating a character who is, at heart, a very solid, loyal, happy and brave character who masks his nature under self-seriousness and pessimism. In short, a very close cousin of the character in C.S. Lewis’s book.
Rick Moranis is experienced in what life will throw at you: He’s experienced personal tragedy, he gave up acting to take care of his family, he’s grown up a lot since he’s last been on screen. Director Joe Johnston may want another old-friend to help him bring the story to life for his last directing effort.
As long as the director and Screenwriter David Maggee point him down to right path, Rick Moranis could really surprise modern audiences with a nuanced, hilarious, engaging role like Puddleglum.
Rick Moraines would be great as Puddleglum, and he could really surprise audiences who are expecting him to play to anxious nerd we all love him to play, instead playing very solid, brave and happy character who is self-serious and pessimistic.