The cast for Rogue Trooper, the upcoming movie from Moon and Warcraft director Duncan Jones, has been announced. The animated adaptation of the classic 2000 AD comic will be headlined by Aneurin Barnard, Hayley Atwell, and Jack Lowden, and will also feature a number of other well-known British stars such as Sean Bean.
Aneurin Barnard, who previously starred in The Goldfinch and Dunkirk, plays the titular Rogue Trooper, a blue-skinned, genetically-engineered soldier fighting on the toxic battlefields of a seemingly never-ending war. The sole survivor of a massacre that killed his squadmates, he’s on the hunt for the traitor that arranged their deaths. He does this with the aid of three of his killed-in-action squadmates, whose digital personalities still remain conscious after death and are uploaded into Rogue’s gun, helmet, and backpack.
Barnard is the only cast member whose role we know, and so as of yet it’s unclear who will play his squadmates and his traitorous nemesis. But the actor will be joined by Hayley Atwell (of Peggy Carter in the MCU fame, as well as Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning) and Jack Lowden (Slow Horses, Dunkirk) in what we expect to be significant roles.
Joining the trio is Daryl McCormack (Bad Sisters, Peaky Blinders) and Reece Shearsmith (Saltburn, Inside No. 9). The rest of the ensemble include a variety of surprising names, including Jemaine Clement (Flight of the Conchords, Avatar: The Way of Water), Matt Berry (What We Do in the Shadows), Diane Morgan (Cunk on Earth), Alice Lowe (Black Mirror, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace), Asa Butterfield (Sex Education, Hugo) and Sean Bean (Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings). It’s a cast stacked with British (and New Zealand) gems.
Alongside the announcement of the cast, Rebellion and Liberty Films – the production companies behind the movie – have also announced that principal photography is now complete. The film was shot at Rebellion Film Studios in Oxfordshire, England, and the performances will be brought to life in animation form by Treehouse Digital. The studio is using Unreal Engine 5, the software that is also used to make many video games. Our first taste of what a film made with the tech will look like can be found in the first teaser image from Rogue Trooper, as seen below.
Discussing the software, producer Stuart Fenegan said, “The advancements in Unreal Engine 5 and the inclusion of MetaHuman rigs mean that it is now possible to achieve a very high standard of animation within an indie budget. Working with our amazing partners at Rebellion, Epic and Treehouse Digital we are pioneering and developing a new creative pipeline that will enable independent production of CG animated films.”
Talking about the project in general, director Duncan Jones said, “2000 AD offers a very different flavour of comic action: Political and brutal at times, but always with a Pythonesque twinkle in the eye. Dredd (2012) was a taste of what 2000 AD has to offer and now we get to show the world another side of the beast. It is a genuine privilege to be given the opportunity to make Rogue Trooper.
No firm release date has been set for Rogue Trooper, but it is expected to be “complete” in 2025. Jones first teased he was working on Rogue Trooper back in 2018.
Matt Purslow is IGN’s UK News and Features Editor.
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