The Shadow King

The Shadow King is an upcoming stop-motion dark fantasy thriller film written and directed by Henry Selick, with music by Bruno Coulais. Initially, The Walt Disney Company made plans to release the project, but eventually backed out of the deal, after spending a reported $50 million on it, leaving Selick to proceed without Disney, but with a plot and voice cast. The film was released widely in United States theaters on late 2019 or Fall 2020 release, The film was produced/distributed by K5 International.

Plot
The Shadow King is a deliciously magical tale about nine-year-old New York orphan Hap who hides his fantastically weird hands with long fingers from a cruel world. But when a living shadow girl teaches him to make amazing hand shadows that come to life, his hands become incredible weapons in a shadow war against a ravenous monster bent on killing Hap’s brother Richard and ultimately destroying New York.

Cast and characters

 * Pamela Adlon as Richard, Hap's friend
 * John Goodman as Darce, Hap's friend and doorman of Fargo's place
 * Jeffrey Tambor as Cuzzie Bell, who tells and help Hap about Young Fern, an shadow girl, Barong to stop an evil old Miss Fern to sinister plan with shadow monsters to destroying city
 * Benedict Cumberbatch as The Shadow King, the main antagonist
 * Catherine O'Hara as Miss Fern-the shadow king's wife
 * Lilla Crawford as Young Fern, Hap's love interest
 * Jaden Betts as Hap, an main protagonist
 * Eva Longoria as Miss Clench, who districts Darce about Hap and Richard to welcome here
 * Ray Shirley as Nun of Fargo's Apartment
 * Viggo Mortensen as Dad
 * Maya Rudolph as Mom
 * Kyle Harrison Breitkopf as Bali School Bully
 * Lincoln Melcher, Payden Kershner, Trey Bumpass, Tara Strong, Reese Hartwig, J.J. Totah, Mackenzie Aladjem, Emil-Bastien Bouffard as Bali School Students
 * Dee Bradley Baker as Clench's Poodle / Barong / Shadow Monsters
 * Jeff Bennett, Martin Lawrence, Rob Riggle, James Corden as Woodshop Costumers
 * Woody Allen as Party Guest of NYC
 * Mary Jo Catlett, Alan Tudyk, Katie Lowes, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Morris Chestnut, Laurence Fishburne, Nia Long and Angela Bassettas as All the New York City Citizens

Pre-production
After the success of his stop motion film Coraline, director Selick was brought into Pixar and given a four-picture deal. He wrote his own script for a story about a young orphan in New York City who has hands with unusually long fingers which the child hides from others. When the child is taught how to make "amazing hand shadows that come to life", they become his weapons in a shadow war against a monster intent on killing the child's brother and ultimately, New York as well. The film began pre-production in 2011, with an expected release date of October 2013.

In 2018 the project was revived with Selick still directing and the script would be back in production

Setbacks
After spending a reported $50 million, and due to unspecified concerns over future costs and benefits, The Walt Disney Company declined the project in August 2012, allowing Selick to shop the project to other studios. In February 2013, it was reported in a press release by Selick that K5 International would be handling sales at the European Film Market. It is unknown when the film will actually be released; but, given the original intent to release the film for Halloween in October and the general macabre content of Henry Selick's films. The film received very mixed to negative reactions in advance screenings, so the studios decided to give the film is likely that it will be released in theatrical release in the United States, in sometime in late 2019 or 2020 release. Attached to it was WerleyBob Pictures' T.P. a stop-motion short by Bob Blevins & Bradly Werley.