Wild Robot director praises stellar cast led by Lupita Nyong'o [TIFF]

Chris Sanders, the long-time partner of How to train your dragonDean DeBlois, just premiered his solo Dreamworks movie, The wild robotAt the Toronto International Film Festival. The new animated movie is an adaptation of Peter Brown's #1 New York Times bestselling novel, following a robot named Roz who crash-lands on a remote island and befriends the local wildlife, including an orphaned gosling. Aside from his talent in writing and directing, Sanders also boasts an all-star cast that includes Lupita Nyong'o (A quiet place: Day one), Pedro Pascal (The last of us), Keith Connor (Heartstopper), and Stephanie Hsu (Everything everywhere all in one).

Apart from his screenwriting work on previous DreamWorks projects such as How to train your dragon And The CroodsSanders is much loved for creating Lilo & Stitch For Disney. With the live-action remake of the project well underway, it will be refreshing for fans of the rabunctious alien to see a new animated take on a very different kind of creature new to their environment. Given the sheer amount of A-list actors who have signed up to work with him, it's clear that Hollywood is immediately invested in his upcoming work.

Screen Rant Interviewed The wild robot Director Chris Sanders on the red carpet of the movie's premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where the veteran filmmaker praised his casting director and shared his excitement over the likes of Lupita Nyong'o immediately agreeing to join his movie.

Chris Sanders is surprisingly humble about the casting choices of the wild robot

The director claims, "That's something I'm not good at."

Screen Rant: We are so excited for The wild robot. You have put together an incredible cast here. Who did you think of first and what were you most surprised to receive?

Chris Sanders: First of all, full credit to Christi Soper, our casting director. It's something I'm not good at - and, of course, it's what she does for a living.

When she suggested these actors, we went out to them, and they all said yes. Which I was surprised by. They all said yes! I was grateful for them, because they were all our first choices, and they were so brilliant.

It's impressive that the director is so calm about napping the stars he has, because Screen Rant Reporters could not contain their own excitement on the red carpet when Nyong'o, Hsu and Connor walked through. While Pascal and Bill Nighy were not present at the event, their presence was carried through in the movie and reflected in The wild robots reviews.

More about The Wild Robot (2024)

The animated film is considered reminiscent of Wall-E.

From DreamWorks Animation comes a new adaptation of literary sensation Peter Brown's beloved, award-winning, #1 New York Times bestseller, The Wild Robot.

The epic adventure follows the journey of a robot - ROZZUM unit 7134, "Roz" for short - who is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh environment, gradually build relationships with the animals on the island and become the Adaptive. Father of an orphaned Gosling.

Check out some of our other TIFF 2024 interviews here:

The wild robot Releases in theaters on September 27.

Source: Screen Rant Plus