Did you know the prosperity of England, the very foundation of its society and sovereignty is predicated on the presence of seven ravens at the Tower of London? Called the Ravens of the Tower London, the birds have resided at the 11th century prison (and now modern tourist trap) for several hundred years, and the often long-lived birds have had quite a few bits of lore spun around them, including the legend that if they fly away, the crown and Britain are fucked. The whole Tony Soprano/ducks-in-the-pool plot must have been quite poignant to workers at the tower.
Having already explored made-up Star Warsian Owl adventures, Warner Brothers wants to keep in the legendary bird business by immortalizing the ravens in an animated feature. Carousel Productions — notably backed by Steve Carell — brought the project to WB and will make it their first animated film. The film’s script originates from Jim Cooper, who is coming off of the How To Train Your Dragon series for TV as well as work at both Pixar and Dreamworks.
The tower ravens are associated with the Yeomen Warders — or “beefeaters” — who are the other funny-looking British pageantry guards, these specifically dedicated to protecting the crown jewels and overseeing the prison. Since the Tower is now pretty much exclusively a tourist attraction, the guards are (apparently self-acknowledging) tour guides these days. They’ve long kept up the tradition of care-taking or the Ravens however, routinely feeding them their traditional meat scraps and even clipping their wings so that they remain a fixture and won’t tear down the monarchy by fucking off into the clouds.
I’m sure that detail will be skipped though, as somehow I doubt the epic tale will feature ravens that can’ fly straight.
Also, will Snyder be paying off his Sucker Punch black-eye by directing for aerial avian combat?
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Source | Variety (via Film Stage)