The upcoming live-action/hybrid feature adaptation of the animated series ‘Tom and Jerry’ will begin filming June 10th in Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesen.

Casting has already begun for the role of the character Kayla, who teams up with Tom to stop the pesky Jerry from ruining an important event for herself.

Here is the shortlist of actors in the mix for the role:

Olivia Cooke (‘Bates Motel,’ ‘Ready Player One’)

Zoey Deutch (‘The Disaster Artist,’ ‘Zombieland 2: Double Tap’)

Becky G (‘Empire,’ ‘Power Rangers’)

Yara Shahidi (‘Tales of Arcadia,’ ‘Grown-ish’)

Kelly Marie Tran (‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi,’ ‘Sorry For Your Loss’)

Isabela Moner (‘Sicario: Day of the Soldado,’ ‘Dora the Explorer’)

Moreover, Tim Story (‘Ride Along’ and 2000’s ‘Fantastic Four’ franchises) will direct ‘Tom and Jerry.’ His next film is Warner Bros. ‘Shaft’ reboot, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Richard Roundtree, and Jessie T. Usher, releasing June 14th.

As an aside, Story was talking to Warner Bros. executives about what he had interest in doing next. So, when the cartoon property was brought up, he immediately mentioned his admiration for the characters and how he’d love tackling that property, especially having worked in animation before.

Additionally, the plan is to shoot in the real world with 2D animated versions of the familiar cat and mouse pair. Since Tom and Jerry didn’t speak and relied on physical comedy to draw laughs, this version will stick to that style and not cast actors to voice the duo.

Further, the screenplay is from Bryan Schulz & Cornelius Uliano (‘The Peanuts Movie’), and Kevin Costello (‘Brigsby Bear’).

Meanwhile, filming might wrap sometime in mid-to-late September. Cinematographer Alan Stewart (Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin’ and ‘Bush’) is also onboard the project.

Warner Bros. will release the film on April 16th, 2021.

Source: Discussing Film