We can now add “cinematic snowman” to our big list of “Things Jason Momoa and Josh Gad have in common” tonight, as Deadline reports that the Aquaman star has signed on to voice the big, cold man himself in a new live-action Frosty The Snowman movie.
Primarily designed—like most kids’ stories—to teach children that they, too, shall one day die, Frosty is a holiday classic dating back to 1950, when Gene Autry crooned to America’s children all about the inevitable impermanence of all things. (Especially when those things are made of snow.) The character was later brought to (fleeting, fleeting) life in a 1969 Rankin-Bass animated special, with comedian Jackie Vernon playing the poor, doomed ice golem.
This new Frosty is being assembled by Jon Berg, Greg Silverman, and Geoff Johns, all of whom played a part in launching Momoa from well-liked minor character on a hit television show all the way up to “actual movie star” with the release of Justice League and then Aquaman in 2018. In talking about Momoa taking the role, Silverman said this: “We know Jason as a true human being filled with love, compassion and a deep connection to ohana—all of which is the living spirit of Xmas and Frosty.” We don’t know if that’s simply an apparently-mandatory reference to Momoa’s Hawaiian heritage, or some vague hint that this Frosty will be hanging out in the Pacific islands, but either way, it was a little bit weird. (Also, we can’t even cope with the anxiety of watching Frosty run, desperate for a few scant more seconds of life, from patch of shade to patch of shade in a merciless tropical locale.)
In addition to his superhero duties, Momoa recently starred on Apple TV+’s See, and will appear in the upcoming Dune. (Also: Snyder Cut.) Playing Frosty is obviously something of a departure from his brand, but if those creepy commercials where they CGI a tiny body onto his head are any indication, maybe that’s the direction his career is swinging these days.