97-year-old daredevil Sir David Attenborough hopping back in the saddle for Planet Earth III
Despite previous reports that Attenborough might be done traveling around the planet to gently say things about animals, he's back in the saddle
Today, in “Just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in—but very gently, so that his bones don’t explode” news: Sir David Attenborough has been confirmed to star, including filming on-location, in the upcoming Planet Earth III, despite now being 97-years-old.
It had previously been suggested that Attenborough—who both appeared in, and narrated, both 2006's groundbreaking Planet Earth and its sequel series, 2016's Planet Earth II—might be, in the words of well-known naturalist Danny Glover, too old for this shit. (His last such project, this year’s Wild Isles, was supposedly going to be his last on-location shoot, per The Guardian; a medical professional, armed with a defibrillator, reportedly had to follow him up the stairs leading up from the dock of one of the islands in question, and producers were careful to keep some of the wildlife well away from him, lest he contract avian flu.)
Nevertheless, you can’t keep The Daredevil Of Gently Narrating Gorgeous Footage Of Interesting Animals down, and so Planet Earth III has already begun filming footage of Attenborough on location in England, walking through the same British countryside that once inspired his hero Charles Darwin. Executive producer Mike Gunton expressed more enthusiasm than most people do about nigh-centenarians planning world travel expeditions in a statement, saying, “Planet Earth wouldn’t be Planet Earth without David, so I’m delighted he is presenting the third series. As ever, he has brought his huge enthusiasm and wisdom, has been encouraging about our new perspective and has, I know, really enjoyed seeing the extraordinary new wonders brought to the screen.”
Although he’s been with the BBC series since the beginning, Attenborough’s voice wasn’t on the version of the first Planet Earth that originally aired in the U.S.; Discovery opted to record new narration with Sigourney Weaver in his place. (Planet Earth II featured Attenborough in all regions.)