It’s been almost a year and a half since Hasbro first announced it was developing a full-length My Little Pony feature film for 2017, and during that time, fans of the franchise have only had their love for the series deepen, even as some doubtless unfair stereotypes about the nature of that fanbase take deeper hold in popular consciousness. And as the project moves forward, so too does the casting process: Deadline reports Emily Blunt has joined the film’s voice cast, and, by extension, certain IMDB lists maintained by adult fans of the animated horses best described as “ambiguously unsettling.”
Blunt will be voicing a new character, so there’s no real chance of outrage from devoted viewers/lifestyle participants about her doing an injustice to the voice of Applejack. She joins the already-cast Kristin Chenoweth, Tara Strong, Cathy Weseluck, Andrea Libman, Tabitha St. Germain, and Ashleigh Ball. The upcoming film’s story involves a dark force threatening Ponyville, and “the Mane 6–Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity–embark[ing] on an unforgettable journey beyond Equestria where they meet new friends and exciting challenges on a quest to use the magic of friendship and save their home.” It’s probably not a coincidence that “meet new friends and exciting challenges on a quest to use the magic of friendship” is also a solid description of the goals of your average My Little Pony fan convention attendee.
The film is set for release on November 3, 2017, meaning there’s plenty of time for fans to adapt their fan fic/voice modulators/role-play scripts accordingly, as well as perfect their indignant emails in response to yet another unfair characterization of their fandom.