Christian Bale, Robert Pattinson roped in for English version of The Boy and the Heron

The English-language dub was made in alignment with the SAG-AFTRA Foreign Dubbing Agreement

Christian Bale, Robert Pattinson and Florence Pugh are part of the star-studded voice cast for the English version of Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki's latest film The Boy and the Heron.

Indie producer and distributor GKIDS has revealed the English voice cast for the film. The star-studded cast includes Christian Bale (Shoichi Maki), Dave Bautista (the Parakeet King), Gemma Chan (Natsuko), Willem Dafoe (Noble Pelican), Karen Fukuhara (Lady Himi), Mark Hamill (Grand Uncle), Robert Pattinson (The Grey Heron) and Florence Pugh (Kiriko). Luca Padovan joins the cast as protagonist Mahito Maki, with Mamoudou Athie, Tony Revolori and Dan Stevens featured as the Parakeets.

The English-language dub was made in alignment with the SAG-AFTRA Foreign Dubbing Agreement.

Written and directed by Miyazaki, the semi-autobiographical film is the legendary director's first animated feature in 10 years. It follows the story of a 12-year-old boy named Mahito Maki.

The film, which was released in Japan on July 14, was later premiered at the 48th Toronto International Film Festival as the opening film. The film will have an international theatrical release on December 8.

The film's official synopsis reads, “A young boy named Mahito, longing for his mother, ventures into a world shared by the living and the dead. There, death comes to an end, and life finds a new beginning. A semi-autobiographical fantasy about life, death and creation, in tribute to friendship, from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki.”

The Boy and the Heron was released in Japan as Kimitachi wa Di Ikiruka, which means How Do You Live? While Miyazaki has written the story, it is backed by Toshio Suzuki. Joe Hisaishi has scored the music. It was speculated that the film is based on Genzaburo Yoshino's 1937 book Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka, which is about a teenage boy going through a spiritual journey as he begins to understand life and its meaning through a journal related to his uncle. However, the makers later confirmed that the filmmaker made the film out of an original story.

The film will have an international theatrical release on December 8.