Rio 2 director Carlos Saldanha has recruited Super Bowl Halftime star Bruno Mars to voice the character Roberto in the upcoming sequel to Rio. Roberto is a "smooth operating" macaw bird.
According to Billboard, Saldanha became interested in casting Mars for his first ever voiceover role after watching him host Saturday Night Live in October 2012. After working with Mars on the part, Saldanha rewrote his character to be less macho and also more fit to Mars' singing. "He pushed it in a way that said 'this is the character' and we felt we could push it," Saldanha said of the character revisions. Mars will also lend a few new songs to the film's soundtrack along with his Smeezingtons bandmate Philip Lawrence. Janelle Monáe will contribute to the soundtrack as well.
Atlantic Records will release the soundtrack around April 11, when the film opens in theatres. The original cast, including Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway and Jamie Foxx, will reprise their role. Saldhana told Billboard, that the film will most likely feature 12 songs, all rooted in traditional folk music of northeastern Brazil.
"It's a different kind of music from the first one, which was mostly samba," Saldanha said. "It's multicultural and represents Brazil and the USA. We looked at folk dancing and folk songs of the region. Sergio and Carlos have great ears and they make sure everything is done (rhythmically) the way it's done in Brazil."
Check out the trailer for Rio 2 here, and let us know what you think in the comments section below!
