‘Lilo and Stitch’: Billy Magnussen Joins Live-Action Remake!!

Disney‘s upcoming Hawaiian rollercoaster ride just gained a new passenger, as the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch welcomed a new cast member to its ranks. According to Deadline, the feature has cast Billy Magnussen in an unknown role. He joins the previously announced Zach Galifianakis and newcomer Maia Kealoha. For the time being, Disney is keeping specific roles under wraps save for Kealoha. However, as a majority of the human characters are AAPI, we may expect Magnussen and Galifiankis to play one of the alien characters.

Kealoha is set to star as title character Lilo Pelekai. She will lead the story about the young protagonist, a Hawaiian girl and frequent social outcast who’s raised by her older sister Nani. Should the remake follow similar beats as its animated counterpart, it will follow Lilo after she finds and befriends a dog-like alien named Stitch, who is also an outcast in his own way. After Stitch crash lands on Earth, Lilo will try her best to protect him from other aliens, while also dealing with social services hounding her and Nani.

Why Billy Magnussen Is a Great Fit

Despite not yet knowing which character Magnussen will play, his prior roles mark him as another fitting cast addition to the remake. In films past, he’s often taken on characters with a silly nature in one way or another – and a couple have been in prior Disney features. On that front, he previously starred in the live-action Aladdin as Prince Anders, as well as the musical film adaptation of Into the Woods, also as a prince. His repertoire also contains a varied mix of projects, from comedies like Game Night and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, to more dramatic projects including No Time to Die, The Many Saints of Newark, and more.

The Lilo & Stitch remake is written by Chris Kekaniokelani Bright, who makes his feature writing debut with the movie. It will be directed by Marcel the Shell with Shoes On‘s director Dean Fleischer Camp. Camp is the second director attached to the project following the previous announcement of Jon M. Chu. Rideback‘s Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich act as producers, with Ryan Halprin executive producing for the company.