Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Dolittle Reboot Gets New Name

Saturday afternoon, Universal revealed the first official poster for Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Dolittle reboot and with it, came an official name change. Though it had been reported earlier this fall, the poster confirms the movie will be named Dolittle instead of The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, as the project was initially announced as.

Earlier this April, it had been reported Dolittle was undergoing hefty reshoots to meet need changes from the studio. At the time, THR reported Universal enlisted the help of Chris McKay (The LEGO Batman Movie), and Jonathan Liebesman (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) to help directs new sequences during reshoots. Universal reportedly has upwards of $175 million already invested in the project ahead of marketing, publicity, and distribution costs.

The full synopsis for Dolittle can be found below.

“After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle (Downey), famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England, hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his menagerie of exotic animals for company. But when the young queen (Jessie Buckley, Wild Rose) falls gravely ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.

The doctor is joined on his quest by a young, self-appointed apprentice and a raucous coterie of animal friends, including an anxious gorilla (Oscar winner Rami Malek), an enthusiastic but bird-brained duck (Oscar winner Octavia Spencer), a bickering duo of a cynical ostrich (The Big Sick’s Kumail Nanjiani) and an upbeat polar bear (John Cena, Bumblebee), and a headstrong parrot (Oscar winner Emma Thompson), who serves as Dolittle’s most trusted advisor and confidante.”

Directed by Stephen Gaghan, Dolittle stars Downey, Harry Collett, Antonio Banderas, Michael Sheen, Jim Broadbent, Jessie Buckley, Ralph Ineson, and Kasia Smutniak as live-action characters. The expansive voice cast for the animals includes John Cena (Yoshi the Polar Bear), Marion Cotillard (Tutu the Fox), Carmen Ejogo (Regine the Lionness), Ralph Fiennes (Barry the Tiger), Selena Gomez (Betsy the Giraffe), Tom Holland (Jip the Dog), Rami Malek (Chee-Chee the Gorilla), Kumail Nanjiani (Plimpton the Ostrich), Craig Robinson (Fleming the Mouse), Octavia Spencer (Dab-Dab the Duck), Emma Thompson (Polynesia the Parrot), and Frances de la Tour (Ginko-Who-Soars).

Dolittle bows January 17, 2020.