Chris Pine Announced as King Magnifico in Disney's WISH
Wonder Woman and Star Trek star Chris Pine will play King Magnifico, the ruler of the Kingdom of Rosas, in Wish, the company announced today during their CinemaCon panel. Joining Academy Award®-winning actress Ariana DeBose, who voices a young woman named Asha in the film, Pine lends his voice to the ruler of Rosas, a magical kingdom where wishes really do come true. Pine is fresh off a performance in Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which scored big with critics and fans, and had a solid-but-not-spectacular theatrical outing for Paramount.
Wish is the latest big blockbuster to attach itself to Pine's innate charm, which prior to joining the USS Enterprise also saw him recruited as one of the big screen iterations of Tom Clancy's hero Jack Ryan. In animated form, Pine has previously appeared in Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey, an educational movie that was missing for years after its release; Rise of the Guardians, in which he played Jack Frost; and as the Spider-Man who died at the beginning of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
"As the most powerful person in the kingdom, King Magnifico needed to be played by someone who could give all the charm, cleverness and charisma to this magnanimous character, and Chris is beautifully bringing all of that and then some," said Jennifer Lee, "Wish" executive producer and one of the writers for the film.
You can see the first look at King Magnifico below.
King Magnifico in Disney Animation's Wish
- Walt Disney Animation)Tony Chambers, executive vice president and head of theatrical distribution for The Walt Disney Studios, made the CinemaCon announcement, highlighting that Wish continues Disney Animation's tradition of bringing epic tales to the big screen for families to experience together over the Thanksgiving holiday and beyond.
The film also helps mark the culmination of Disney100, a year-long celebration honoring the legacy of Walt Disney while continuing to push the boundaries of storytelling and innovation for the next 100 years.
Wish introduces Asha, a sharp-witted idealist who makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star set out to prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.
Also featuring the voice of Alan Tudyk as Asha's favorite goat, Valentino, the film is helmed by Oscar®-winning director Chris Buck ("Frozen," "Frozen 2") and Fawn Veerasunthorn ("Raya and the Last Dragon"), produced by Peter Del Vecho ("Frozen," "Frozen 2") and co-produced by Juan Pablo Reyes ("Encanto"). Jennifer Lee ("Frozen," "Frozen 2") executive produces—Lee and Allison Moore ("Night Sky," "Manhunt") are writers on the project. With original songs by Grammy®-nominated singer/songwriter Julia Michaels and Grammy-winning producer/songwriter/musician Benjamin Rice, plus score by composer Dave Metzger, Wish opens only in theaters on Nov. 22, 2023.
