Rickman’s voice can be heard throughout much of the preview for the film, which has the actor reprising his role as Absolem, the Blue Caterpillar of the magical world of Underland. He previously voiced the character in 2010’s Alice in Wonderland.
Directed by James Bobin (The Muppets, Muppets Most Wanted), Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass serves as a sequel to Tim Burton’s live-action 2010 film that reimagined Lewis Carroll’s fantastic story of a young girl’s adventure in a magical world populated by all manner of eccentric (and dangerous) creatures.
Along with Rickman as the Blue Caterpillar, Alice Through the Looking Glass brings back original cast members Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, and Helena Bonham Carter, as well as voice actors Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, and Timothy Spall. Newcomers to the cast include Rhys Ifans as the Mad Hatter’s father, Zanik Hightopp, and Sacha Baron Cohen as the enigmatic character, Time.
Set a few years after the events of Alice in Wonderland, the sequel brings Alice (Wasikowska) back to Underland for a reunion with the White Rabbit (Sheen), Absolem (Rickman), Cheshire Cat (Fry), and the Mad Hatter (Depp). With the Hatter acting strangely, Alice is sent on a quest by the White Queen (Hathaway) to borrow a powerful artifact from the keeper of time. She soon finds herself tumbling through the history of Underland and interacting with characters both strange and familiar at various points in their lives.
The film will be the final project to feature the work of Rickman, who died January 14 in a battle with cancer at the age of 69. The script for Alice Through the Looking Glass was penned by Linda Woolverton, who wrote the screenplay for the previous film, as well as Disney’s 1994 animated smash hit The Lion King and 2014’s live-action film Maleficent, among other notable projects.
Alice Through the Looking Glass hits theaters May 27.
