People just unveiled an exclusive look at a trio of new Cars 3 characters along with their corresponding vocal actors — we’re excited about the new additions, as well as the return of one familiar Pixar voice.
According to Kerry Washington, her character Natalie Certain “is a super-smarty-pants statistician. She knows everything there is to know about the ins and outs of statistics when it comes to racing.” She definitely looks like she’ll provide a lot of character statistics in the film.
Official character description below:
Natalie Certain (voice of Kerry Washington) is a highly respected statistical analyst who knows her numbers. Book-smart and mathematically gifted, Certain is a fresh voice in the racing world. While she may earn top marks in her ability to evaluate a racer’s stats, she could be underestimating the importance of determination.
We’re thrilled to see Nathan Fillion return to Pixar’s vocal booth as he previously knocked it out of the park voicing the ever-confident Johnny Worthington from Monsters University.
Sterling (voice of Nathan Fillion) is a brilliant businesscar who runs Rust-eze Racing Center—one of the most successful elite training facilities in the country. Despite his dapper appearance and obvious wealth, Sterling comes across as unassuming and laid back. But business is business, and Sterling is driven to ensure all of his investments pay off.
Newcomer, Lea DeLaria will also join the cast voicing the demolition derby-inspired school bus named Miss Fritter. In the character art, you can also spot an easter egg with a road sign titled, Cutting Blvd on the side of the bus – this is the street name of Pixar’s original studio location in Point Richmond, California.
Miss Fritter (voice of Lea DeLaria) loves the smash-and-crash life of demolition derby. A local legend at the Thunder Hollow Speedway, Fritter’s formidable school-bus size is intimidating, but it’s her smoke stacks of doom, razor-sharp stop sign, and crazy collection of her victims’ license plates that usually steers her opponents in the other direction.
Kerry, Lea, and Nathan will join the previously announced cast of characters featuring Armie Hammer (Jackson Storm), Cristela Alonzo (Cruz Ramirez), and a group of NASCAR racers announced last week.
UPDATED – A few new voices are set to return as well – Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton will also be back and will play Hamilton, Cruz Ramirez’s voice-command assistant (he previously voiced a racer in Cars 2 that shared his same name).
Three-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was called on to voice Hamilton, a fully loaded, built-in voice command assistant to high-tech trainer Cruz Ramirez. When Lightning McQueen takes his training off-road, Cruz enlists Hamilton’s help to keep the struggling racer on track.
“Cars 3” also welcomes the gang from Radiator Springs back to the big screen, including Lightning McQueen’s best buddy Mater (voice of Larry the Cable Guy), and #95’s No. 1 fan Sally (voice of Bonnie Hunt). Friends supporting their hometown hero include Fillmore (voice of Lloyd Sherr), Sarge (voice of Paul Dooley), Lizzie (voice of Katherine Helmond), Ramon (voice of Cheech Marin), Sheriff (voice of Michael Wallis), and Flo (voice of Jenifer Lewis).
Loyal transporter Mack (voice of John Ratzenberger), big-hearted Italian Fiat 500 Luigi (voice of Tony Shalhoub), and charming little Italian forklift Guido (voice of Guido Quaroni) continue to support Lightning McQueen’s racing endeavors. World-renowned sports announcer Bob Cutlass (voice of Bob Costas) is still calling the races, and Chick Hicks (voice of Bob Peterson) is back—this time as a commentator on the Racing Sports Network. The lovable duo Dusty (voice of Ray Magliozzi) and Rusty (voice of Tom Magliozzi) return as Rust-eze’s chief proprietors—though they have big things in store for Lightning McQueen.
A few intriguing notes from Pixar’s press release is that Bob Peterson is tagged to voice Chick Hicks – this character was previously voiced by Michael Keaton. Also, the fact that Tom Magliozzi is listed as a returning voice has us intrigued as he has passed away in 2014. We can only assume that means that they’ll be using unused vocal tracks from his initial Cars film in 2006. This is also a question we have regarding the previously released teaser which includes a vocal track that sounds exactly like Paul Newman (voice of Doc Hudson) who likewise passed away in 2008.
In addition to the updated news, Pixar has also released another teaser poster for the film. Although this particular beach scene has been touted before, this is the first time we’re also seeing Jackson Storm on the beach alongside Lightning and Cruz.
Additionally, you can chat with other Pixar fans about the updated character news in the Pixar Post Forum – what do you think of Nathan and Lewis’ return to Pixar?
