If you put a gun to Empire’s head (please don’t; hypothetical only) and asked us to name the three funniest people working in comedy right now, it’s entirely possible that we’d come up with Robert Downey Jr. (he is Kirk Lazarus; ‘nuff said…), Tina Fey (30 Rock is the funniest US sitcom at the moment) and Ben Stiller (ok, we’re reaching a little with that one; just a little, mind…).
Which is why we’re delighted to hear that the trio have signed on to lend their voices to DreamWorks Animation’s latest behemoth, a superhero spoof provisionally titled Master Mind.
Given how, well, incredible The Incredibles was, it’s a brave animated movie that treads on similar territory – but **Master Mind **may well skew a little darker, given that it’s about a supervillain who finds himself without a purpose in life after he finally succeeds in killing his heroic nemesis.
Stiller – who will also produce **Master Mind **– has been down this path before, with the underrated Mystery Men, and of course is perfectly at home in front of a mic for DreamWorks Animation after his stints on Madagascar and its sequel. The film will also reunite him with his Oscar-nominated Tropic Thunder co-star, Downey Jr. – although there’s no word yet on the specific roles involved.
Alan J. Schoolcraft and Brent Simons wrote the screenplay for the film, which already has a release date: November 5, 2010. We have to say, this sounds like it could be pretty twisted and darkly funny; let’s hope this has more of an edge than most animated films.