20th Century Fox has announced the full voice cast for Rio 2, the sequel to the 2011 animated film about birds.
Jamie Foxx, will.i.am, Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Tracy Morgan and George Lopez will reprise their roles in the movie. New additions to the cast include Bruno Mars, Andy Garcia, and Kristin Chenoweth, who will all lend their voices to new characters.
Rio 2 will follow Blu (Eisenberg), a neurotic blue macaw, and Jewell (Hathaway), his free-spirited mate, as well as their three kids. The conflict of the film arises when Jewel expresses her desire to raise the chicks in the Amazon as “real birds” rather than in their current domesticated environment.
The film will be helmed by the original writer-director, Carlos Saldanha, and will incorporate into its narrative the 2014 FIFA World Cup, which is set to be hosted by Rio next year. Rio 2 will feature original music by Grammy winner Janelle Monae, who will also voice a character. It is set to be released on April 14, 2014.