Cult sci-fi favourite to be given Welsh makeover
- Published
Rogue Trooper is a blue-skinned, mohawk-sporting, genetically-engineered soldier
A cult sci-fi favourite is to be given a Welsh makeover courtesy of David Bowie's son.
Filmmaker Duncan Jones has revealed the casting for his upcoming adaption of Rogue Trooper, a project which was first announced in 2018.
The futuristic soldier, a staple of long-running UK comic 2000 AD, external, will be played by Bridgend's Aneurin Barnard.
And it seems the character will also be a Welshman, with Jones tweeting hints about his nationality.
"I'd just like to take credit for giving the world its first non-Tom Jones Welsh superhero," posted the director, who won a BAFTA for his debut 2009 film Moon.
The 52-year-old added: "A Welsh Rogue Trooper, how the hell did that happen?", before admitting being inspired by the rousing speech Newport-born actor Michael Sheen gave on TV in 2022 for Wales's football team ahead of the World Cup.
Asked by one fan if the character will have a Welsh accent, Jones replied: "It is a very, very regional film."
Created in 1981 by Gerry Finley-Day and Dave Gibbons, Rogue Trooper tells the tale of a blue skinned, genetically-modified infantryman fighting a seemingly never-ending war on a ravaged planet known as Nu Earth.
He is accompanied by three comrades-in-arms, previously killed in battle, whose minds have been uploaded into "bio-chips" and installed in various pieces of equipment - namely his helmet, rucksack and gun.
These will be voiced in the film by Daryl McCormack, Jack Lowden and The League of Gentlemen's Reece Shearsmith.
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Also set to feature are Hayley Atwell, Jemaine Clement, Matt Berry, Diane Morgan, Alice Lowe, Asa Butterfield and Sean Bean.
Filming for the animated epic, which utilises ground-breaking technology to bring it to life, has already been completed and it looks set to be released in 2025.
It is the second time a 2000 AD regular has been given the Hollywood treatment, with two cinematic outings for lawman Judge Dredd having been made - one in 1995 starring Sylvester Stallone and another in 2012 with Karl Urban in the lead role.
"2000 AD has a very different flavour of comic action - political and brutal at times, but always with a Pythonesque twinkle in the eye," said Jones in a statement.
"Dredd was a taste of what it has to offer and now we get to show the world another side of the beast.
"It is a genuine privilege to be given the opportunity to make Rogue Trooper."
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