Michael Peña has been cast in ‘Dora the Explorer’.
The 42-year-old actor will voice the role of the young adventurer’s father Cole ‘Papi’ Márquez in the upcoming live adaptation alongside Isabela Moner, who will play the titular character and Eva Longoria, who will portray his wife Elena ‘Mami’ Márquez.
According to ‘The Hollywood Reporter’, ‘Dora the Explorer’ will see the youngster’s parents in danger as she leads her cousin Diego, her monkey friend Boots, and a group of teens "on a Goonies-esque adventure to save her parents and solve the impossible mystery behind a lost Inca civilisation."
‘Dora the Explorer’ is a children’s television programme which first aired in 2000 and is based around the adventures of the titular Spanish-speaking girl, her monkey Boots, her backpack and other animated friends.
In each episode, Dora would go on an adventure in an animated world set inside a computer and she would ask for viewers’ help in solving a puzzle or mystery she faced, teaching children both basic Spanish and puzzle solving skills.
Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes label and his partners Andrew Form and Brad Fuller were initially attached to produce but they are no longer involved.
James Bobin will direct the film from a script penned by Danielle Sanchez-Wittel and Nicholas Stoller.
Although the TV series focused on a young Dora, the live-action movie will centre around the titular character as a teenager who moves to the city to live with her cousin Diego, who also had his own spin-off show ‘Go Diego Go’.
Paramount Pictures are looking to distribute the movie, as the studio is devoted to creating films from the Viacom brands including Nickelodeon – on which ‘Dora the Explorer’ aired – MTV, Comedy Central and BET.
‘Dora the Explorer’ ran for 14 years and was geared towards the younger viewers, with the franchise also branching out into dolls and video games.
‘Dora the Explorer’ is set to hit cinema screens in 2019.
Michael Peña joins Dora the Explorer
