Anakin

Anakin is a 2019 American 3D computer-animated dystopian comedy action-adventure film produced by Illumination Entertainment. It was directed and written by Yarrow Cheney and Scott Mosier, co-directed by Chris Renaud, written by Michael LeSieur and starring the voices of Chris Hemsworth, Dane DeHaan, Brianna Hildebrand, Jamie Foxx, Steve Zahn, Tom Kane, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Bill Hader, Warwick Davis, John Malkovich, Tom Hardy, Matt Damon, and Andrew Lincoln. The film has an original song reperformed by Stevie Wonder and Ariana Grande called "The Faith is Beginning," which was nominated for a Golden Globe. It is based on the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

Cast

 * Dane DeHaan as Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan's Padawan apprentice, who has grown into a powerful but arrogant Jedi.
 * Huckleberry Milner as a young Anakin
 * Brianna Hildebrand as Queen Amidala and Padmé Amidala, the Queen of Naboo, who has recently been elected the planet's senator.
 * Nev Scharrel as a young Padmé
 * Chris Hemsworth as Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon's Jedi Padawan-turned-Jedi Master and mentor of Anakin Skywalker, who holds his master in high regard but questions his motives at times.
 * Jamie Foxx as Mace Windu, a Jedi Master sitting on the Jedi Council who warily watches the Galactic Senate's politics.
 * John Malkovich as Count Dooku, a former Jedi Master who now leads a Separatist movement and is Darth Sidious' new Sith apprentice.
 * Tom Hardy as Jango Fett, a Mandalorian bounty hunter who provides his DNA to use for cloning purposes in the creation of the clone army.
 * Anthony Hopkins as Senator Palpatine and Darth Sidious, a former senator of Naboo and secretly a Sith Lord who has recently been elected Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.
 * Warwick Davis as R2-D2, an astromech droid that saves Queen Amidala's ship when other droids fail.
 * Bill Hader as C-3PO, a protocol droid built by Anakin.
 * Keanu Reeves as Qui-Gon Jinn, a Jedi Master who discovers Anakin and insists that the boy be trained as a Jedi despite the Jedi Council's protests.
 * Maya Rudolph as Shmi Skywalker, Anakin's mother, who is concerned for her son's future and allows him to leave with the Jedi.
 * Tom Kane as Yoda, the centuries-old leader of the Jedi Council who is apprehensive about allowing Anakin to be trained.
 * Andrew Lincoln as Darth Maul, Darth Sidious' Sith apprentice who uses a double-bladed lightsaber.
 * Hugo Weaving as Nute Gunray, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation who leads Naboo's invasion and tries to force Queen Amidala to sign a treaty to legitimize the occupation.
 * Tom Hardy as General Grievous, the fearsome cyborg commander of the Separatists' droid army.
 * Steve Zahn as Jar Jar Binks, a clumsy Gungan exiled from his home and taken in by Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.
 * Hank Azaria as Supreme Chancellor Valorum, the Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic who commissions Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon to negotiate with the Trade Federation Viceroy. Lucas described the character as a "good man but he's beleaguered—a bit like Bill Clinton".
 * Kathryn Hahn as Ahsoka Tano
 * Jim Giffigan as Jabba Desilijic Tiure
 * James Corden as Ziro Desilijic Tiure

Development
On November 5, 2017, George Lucas had the idea for a computer-animated film made by Illumination Entertainment. The film includes the prequel films The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith, and the CGI spin-off Star Wars: The Clone Wars.

Casting
On December 12, 2017, during an announcement on Good Morning America, Michael Strahan announces that Chris Hemsworth, Dane DeHaan, Brianna Hildebrand, Jamie Foxx, Steve Zahn, Tom Kane, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Bill Hader, Warwick Davis, John Malkovich, Tom Hardy, Matt Damon, and Andrew Lincoln will do the dubs for the film's main characters. On April 19, 2018, Huckleberry Milner and Nev Scharrel are chosen to voice the young Anakin and Padme.

Music
In June 20, 2019, Danny Elfman was revealed to be composing the film's score. The film begins with the main theme by John Williams.

Release
On March 16, 2015, Illumination announced the film would be released in 3D on June 17, 2019.

The world premiere of Anakin took place at Spencer House in London, England on February 23, 2019; and the film later premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on July 2, 2019. The stream was broadcast onto YouTube.

A sing along version of the film released in over 1,200 US theaters nationwide on April 7, 2019. The United Kingdom received the same version on April 21, 2019.

The film was re-released in New York and Los Angeles for a one-week engagement starting December 1, 2019. The move was an awards push as awards season heats up.

Marketing
Illumination spent around $140 million to market the film worldwide. Following an announcement on May 22, 2019, Disney premiered the first official teaser trailer on Good Morning America the next day. The first official teaser poster was released on July 7, 2016. On November 2, 2016, Entertainment Weekly debuted the first official image on the cover of their magazine, along with nine new photos. One week later, Emma Watson and Disney debuted a new poster. On November 14, 2016, the first theatrical trailer was released, again on Good Morning America. This reached 127.6 million views in its first 24 hours, setting a new record for the most views in one day, beating The Lion King; this record has since been broken by that movie. A TV spot with Watson singing was shown during the 75th Golden Globe Awards. Disney released the final trailer on January 30, 2017.

Home media
Anakin was released on Blu-ray, Blu-ray 3D, Ultra HD Blu-ray and DVD on November 15, 2019, with a digital release on October 25.

Trivia

 * This film is the longest Illumination film ever, clocking at 495 minutes.