Director Jon Favreau has rounded off his cast for Disney‘s live action and CGI mixed adaptation of Rudyard Kipling‘s The Jungle Book with his latest casting of Bill Murray to voice the loveable bear Baloo.
Bill Murray joins already cast Ben Kingsley (Ender’s Game) as panther Bagheera, Christopher Walken (The Prophecy) as orangutan King Louie, Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) as wolf mother Raksha, Idris Elba (Thor) as tiger Shere Khan, Scarlett Johansson (Lucy) as snake Kaa, and newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli. This according to Deadline.
And yes, we’re all thinking it. Will or won’t Bill Murray sing Bear Necessities?
We’ll keep you posted on the latest for The Jungle Book starring Ben Kingsely, Bill Murray, Christopher Walken, Lupita Nyong’o, Idris Elba, Scarlett Johansson, and Neel Sethi which is slated to hit theaters October 9th, 2015.
BUT WAIT.
Don’t forget that Warner Bros. is also working on a similar film with director Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), though this one has been officially title Jungle Book: Origins for better and more easy differentiations.
Still no one cast for that version but we’ve also learned that its date has been officially set for the year following the Disney release, so I suppose there’s no rush.
We’ll also keep you posted on the latest for Jungle Book: Origins which is slated to hit theaters October 21st, 2016.