Soren, the protagonist in author Kathryn Lasky’s Guardians of Ga’Hoole, will be voiced by actor Jim Sturgess (21, Across the Universe) in director Zack Synder’s (300, Dawn of the Dead) upcoming animated film adaptation. The film is said to be in 3-D and is scheduled for a late 2010 release. However, audience test screenings for the film were held in Los Angeles on Sunday, suggesting that an earlier release date is more than likely.

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(UPDATE: Click here and here for latest Guardians of Ga’Hoole news)

Hey! It's That Guy From '21'

In an interview with JimSturgessOnline.com dated Nov. 11, Sturgess says:

I was really excited about doing this as I had always wanted to be the voice of an animated character. I had been offered to be in some other animated projects but they seemed to be the same as a lot of the other ones that I had seen before and not really interesting to me. I really wanted to hold out and find something special so when ‘Guardians’ turned up I was over the moon! I play the character of Soren in the film. It was alot of fun to do but so different from anything I had done before! You really have to use your imagination as there is no reality infront of you at all. There were moments when I was flying and in full battle, fighting owls coming from every direction, when in reality you’re standing in a dark room with a microphone! I found myself doing all the actions whilst I said the lines so I was constantly flapping my arms!!!….I would hate to watch myself doing that on video tape!!!

I have seen bits of the animation that Zac showed me whilst I was out in LA. He said that even the stuff I saw wasn’t 100% done and that looked unbelievable.  If you’re gonna be in animation film you want it to be directed by Zac Snyder!

Guardians of Ga’Hoole is the story of a young barn owl (Soren) and his quest to escape the clutches of evil war-mongering owls. The film is Snyder’s first family-friendly picture and is based on the first three books in the Ga’Hoole series.