Country music star and television personality Blake Shelton has been tapped to play one of the pigs in Sony's upcoming The Angry Birds Movie, a 3D adventure based on Rovio Entertainment's popular mobile game Angry Birds. Shelton, who will play a pig named Earl, joins an already star-studded cast that includes Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, and SNL's Kate McKinnon.
Shelton's vocals won't strictly be limited to speaking either, as the country music star will also lend his voice to the film's soundtrack. Although the song has yet to be revealed, Shelton revealed to Entertainment Weekly the struggle he had writing it.
“I can write things about myself and my life, but I don’t have a whole lot of experience being shot out of a slingshot at pigs," the singer, who spent countless hours playing the game, said. “I wish I had a dollar for every minute I lost playing that freaking game, you know?”
What he does have, however, is the Southern roots perfect for what the studio was looking for in Earl. "They kept saying, 'More country.' I felt like I was doing a voiceover for Dukes of Hazzard."
While we've yet to hear the song, we did get our first look at Shelton as Earl in The Angry Birds Movie. Check it out below.
As for the story, producer John Cohen previously suggested the movie will answer the question many have had since Angry Birds (the game) first released — "Why are these birds so angry?" According to Cohen, "This is the origin story for how that conflict came to exist between birds and little green piggies."
The Angry Birds Movie shoots into theaters on May 20, 2016.
