Things appear to be moving forward on ‘Through the Looking Glass’, the sequel to the 2010 release of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, as it has just had a pretty big casting announcement. Apparently we are going to be seeing the father of Johnny Depp’s (‘Transcendence‘, ‘Dark Shadows‘) Mad Hatter character! While ‘Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End’ had a certain rock star play Depp’s father, here we are going to be seeing Mark Rylance (‘Anonymous’,’The Other Boelyn Girl’) play the part. Fans of the theater may recognize the name as he has won a ton of Tony and Olivier awards over the years.
Rylance is filling the shoes, though not hat, of the character named Zanik Hightopp. Apparently, like the Hatter, Zanik will have brightly colored hair that will refuse to stay hidden under a top hat. Fans of Lewis Caroll’s work may not recall Hightopp which would be because this character was created just for this film.
Aside from Depp, we’ll be seeing Mia Wasikowska (‘Stoker’,’Crimson Peak‘) reprising her role as Alice and Helene Bonham Carter (‘Fight Club’, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street’) returning as the Red Queen. Sacha Baron Cohen (‘Hugo‘, ‘Borat’) is also joining the cast as a new villain who goes by the name of Time. The plan for the film is that James Bobin (‘The Muppets, ‘Flight of the Conchords’) will be directing the film with will go into production this summer so that it can be prepared for a scheduled May 27th, 2016 release date.
While visually the last release was entertaining, plot wise I can’t say that I was holding my breath for a sequel. In fact, I was kind of surprised that one was being made when I initially heard the announcement.
As the last movie took huge liberties with the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ story, I’m sure that ‘Through the Looking Glass’ won’t be following the book too closely. What do you think of the new casting choices? Are you looking forward to a return to Wonderland? Share your thoughts below!
Source: Slash Film
