Madonna joins ‘Arthur’ Cast for Besson

Madonna will head the voice cast of the big-budget computer-animated “Arthur,” based on a series of children’s books written by French filmmaker Luc Besson, who will direct the project, sources said Thursday.

The $80 million English-language project, scheduled for a 2006 release, follows 10-year-old Arthur who, in a bid to save his grandfather’s house from developers, goes in search of treasure hidden in the land of the Minimoys, a tiny people living in harmony with nature.

Madonna is understood to be voicing the part of Princess Selenia, a character who travels with Arthur to a mysterious forbidden city where an evil being dwells.

“The recording is being done at the moment,” a production source said.

Besson’s Europa production banner also is in the process of casting a major male star. The film will include some live-action sequences.

“Arthur” will be the first film directed by Besson since “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc” five years ago. Besson also is working on a parallel live-action project, which he has written but which remains a closely guarded secret.

Source: Reuters/Hollywood Reporter