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Spiderwick Chronicles' Highmore to Star as Astro Boy
posted on by Egan Loo
Hong Kong's IMAGI Studios has announced that Freddie Highmore will play the title role in the 2009 computer-graphics film adaptation of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy manga. The 16-year-old English actor most recently starred in the twin roles of Jared and Simon Grace in The Spiderwick Chronicles film that opened two weeks ago on his birthday, February 14. His first big break was playing Peter in the Finding Neverland film with Johnny Depp. Highmore won several awards for portraying the boy who would eventually inspire Peter Pan. Highmore and Depp reunited to play Charlie and Willy Wonka, respectively, in Tim Burton's remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Highmore's first starring role in a computer graphics film was in Arthur and the Invisibles. He also voiced Pantalaimon, the animal-like dæmon companion of the lead character Lyra, in The Golden Compass.
Space Jam's Timothy Harris is writing the film, and Flushed Away's David Bowers is directing. Warner Bros. Pictures and The Weinstein Company are planning to release the film worldwide in 2009.
