After having one of the most impressive breakout years in film history — which landed her in our top spot for breakthrough performances of 2011 — the Golden Globe-nominated Jessica Chastain has joined Noah Baumbach‘s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. THR has informed us that Chastain will voice the new character Gia, who is a jaguar.
EW has a photo of her character, along with “Vitaly the Siberian tiger” (voiced by Bryan Cranston) and “Stefano the sea lion” (voiced by Martin Short). You can see it below:
The three of them,along with Frances McDormand, are newcomers to Madagascar star animals Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith and Sacha Baron Cohen, who are back for the European adventure. Eric Darnell (Madagascar I & II), is directing the third installment, scripted by The Squid and the Whale‘s Noah Baumbach. (Yes, Noah Baumbach.)
The story follows Alex the Lion (Stiller), Marty the Zebra (Rock), Gloria the Hippo (Smith) and Melman the Giraffe (Schwimmer) as they continue to fight their way back to New York, with King Julien (Cohen), Maurice and the Penguins joining all the fun. Or: “Their journey takes them through Europe, where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent — Madagascar-style.”
As we saw (or rather heard) in The Tree of Life, Chastain has a very melodic, gentle voice, so I find it rather interesting that she’s been cast to give one to such a furious animal. Then again, after last year, we know that Chastain can pretty much melt into any role she’s given, animated or not.
Check out the latest trailer for Madgascar 3 here and look for it in theaters on June 8th.
Are you happy with this new casting?