That’s the question at the heart of the upcoming sci-fi comedy directed by Monty Python alum Terry Jones (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian), Absolutely Anything. The film casts Shaun of the Dead star Simon Pegg as a disillusioned schoolteacher who wakes up one morning to discover he has the ability to do anything he wants with just the wave of his hand. What he doesn’t know is that the power was bestowed upon him by a race of aliens testing the human race to determine whether the planet should be destroyed.
Along with Pegg, the film features Robin Williams in one of his final roles as the voice of Dennis the dog (who’s given the ability to speak by Pegg’s character), as well as the voices of Jones’ fellow Monty Python cast members John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, and Michael Palin. On the live-action side, Pegg is joined by Underworld actress Kate Beckinsale, Sanjeev Bhaskar (Notting Hill), Eddie Izzard (Eddie Izzard: Dressed to Kill), Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous), and Rob Riggle (21 Jump Street) in the film.
The film is notable for not only being the last project Williams worked on before his death, but also the first film to feature all of the living members of the Monty Python comedy troupe in 18 years. It’s also the first film directed by Terry Jones since the 1996 family comedy he made for Walt Disney Pictures, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Jones has suggested that it could be the last film to feature this many of his Monty Python cohorts in the same project.
Written by Jones and Gavin Scott (The Borrowers, Small Soldiers), Absolutely Anything is scheduled to hit U.K theaters August 14, 2015. A release date for the U.S. is expected to be announced soon.
