Michael J. Fox is delving into the fantasy genre for his first leading role in nearly a decade.
Though the Back to the Future alum has appeared both on screen and voiced roles in recent years, some of which are counted among Fox’s best movies and TV shows, he hasn’t been the central star of a project since 2018. That year saw him vocally reprising the role of A.R.C.H.I.E., a superpowered dog, in A.R.C.H.I.E. 2: Mission Impawsible. Now it’s been revealed that Fox will once again be lending his vocal talents to a movie steeped in the fantastical.
As shared by The Hollywood Reporter, the actor has been tapped to voice Dougie, the lead protagonist in a CG animated movie called Dragoons. Starting out as an everyday worker at WizCorp, Dougie is transformed into a “mighty dragon” and gains an apprentice named Dart. Per the official plot description, these two discover an “impossible truth: their kind were once legendary rulers of the skies, until the ruthless wizard-CEO Hex shrank them, erased their memories and stole their power to build his empire.”
Dragoons sees these two embarking on a journey where they’ll “find the courage to rise, awaken their kind and prove that even the smallest spark can light up the sky.” In a statement accompanying the casting news, Fox said that that Dougie and Dart’s story appealed to him because of “the idea that something immense can be sleeping inside you, just waiting for the right moment to be set free.” He concluded by noting that Dragoons is “a film for anyone who has ever felt overlooked, underestimated or forgotten.”
Though it wasn’t revealed who’s directing and writing Dragoons, the movie is being put together by Icon Creative Studio, which also has the Owen Wilson-led Charlie the Wonderdog coming down the creative pipeline. Shea Wageman, the CEO and president of Icon, said in his own statement that Fox brings both the “immense warmth and unshakeable spirit” that made him the right pick for Dougie. Release date and distribution information for Dragoons will be released in the months ahead.
This news follows seven months after Fox was heard voicing the aptly-named Michael J. The Fox in Zootopia 2, the latest Walt Disney Animation Studios movie. The actor’s other voice acting credits include the Homeward Bound movies, the Stuart Little movies, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, and Back Home Again. He also reprised Marty McFly vocally in the video games Back to the Future: The Game and Lego Dimensions.
Onscreen, Fox most recently appeared in three episodes of the Apple TV series Shrinking as Gerry, a fellow Parkinson’s patient who interacted with Harrison Ford’s Paul Rhoades. He was also the subject of the documentary Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, which is available on the same streaming service. In the 2010s, Fox led the short-lived NBC sitcom The Michael J. Fox Show, as well as recurred on TV shows like The Good Wife and Designated Survivor.
Along with Dragoons and his other acting work, Fox also wrote the book Future Boy: Back to the Future and My Journey Through the Space-Time Continuum in October 2025. The memoir covered his experience filming the first Back to the Future movie, which celebrated its 40th anniversary last year.