Production has started on the fourth installment of the Free Willy movie franchise, and Stargate star Beau Bridges has a leading part in it. The movie will be released directly to video next year.
Here’s the announcement from Clint Morris at the Moviehole.com website:
Warner Premiere has announced the start of production on “Free Willy : South Africa”, with filming that commenced on February 23 for five weeks in Cape Town, South Africa. The announcement was made by Diane Nelson, President, Warner Premiere.
The new film is set for a release exclusively on DVD in 2010 and tells the charming tale of Kirra, a young Australian girl who is sent reluctantly to stay with her grandfather, Gus, in Cape Town. When a young orca whale, Willy, is trapped by a storm in Gus’s run down water theme park, Kirra slowly but surely finds herself adapting to the new surroundings and an ever-growing friend. But, when Gus’s latest attraction starts eating too much, he is tempted to sell Willy to an unscrupulous competitor. The race is on for Kirra and her friends to find Willy’s family and return him to the ocean…
“The FREE WILLLY films are known worldwide for being inspirational, family-oriented, quality entertainment and we’re very excited to be continuing this tradition with ‘Free Willy: South Africa,’” said Nelson. “With a heart-warming, compelling story line and a terrific cast, we’re sure this film will be a hit with new audiences of all ages as well as fans of the earlier releases.”
The pic stars 10-year-old actress, singer, wildlife crusader and dancer Bindi Irwin as Kirra. Already a household name and Emmy Award winner through her wildlife documentary series, fitness DVDs and music albums, Bindi is the daughter of the late Steve Irwin, the world-renowned Australian wildlife expert and conservationist, whose work she is carrying forward. Beau Bridges plays Gus, Kirra’s curmudgeonly grandfather. A Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning actor with a career spanning five decades, Bridges has most recently appeared in the hit television shows ‘Stargate SG-1’ and ‘The Agency.’