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The Lion King Remake Casts John Oliver

Last Week Tonight's man main John Oliver is joining the great Disney circle of life, and the casting is perfect.

Jon Favreau, hot off the success of his live action remake of the Disney animated classic The Jungle Book is bringing the sunbaked world of Pride Lands to life in his next adaptation, The Lion King.

The Lion King Remake Casts John Oliver
Zazu, everyone's favorite (or not) Pride Lands major duomo

It sure looks like Oliver will be lending his voice to Zazu, the red billed hornbill who serves as King Mufasa's chief advisor. In the original 1994 animated Lion King, Zazu was voiced by Rowan Atkinson (Mr. Bean), and served under kings Mufasa, Scar, and Simba.

Donald Glover (Atlanta) has already been announced as the Simba the young lion, James Earl Jones (Star Wars) will be returning to the role of Mufasa head of the pride of lions, Billy Eichner (Parks and Rec) will be playing Timon the meerkat, and Seth Rogen (The Interview) will be playing the voice of Pumbaa the warthog.

This won't be Jon Oliver's first time voicing an animated character, as his other voice credits include the animated film project currently in production, Paramount's Amusement Park alongside Mila KunisJennifer Garner and Matthew Broderick (who was Simba in the original animated Lion King). Oliver also played the role of Vanity Smurf in The Smurfs franchise at Sony Pictures, as well as appearances on The Simpsons and Bob's Burgers on FOX.

The Wrap reported this, even though no official word has been uttered by Disney or Jon Favreau who has been tweeting every time a casting has been made public.

No word on if we'll hear Jon Oliver singing "Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" yet.

We'll let you know when this gets confirmed, as well as any other casting announcements as they get made.


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Mary Anne ButlerAbout Mary Anne Butler

Bleeding Cool News Editor Mary Anne Butler (Mab, for short) has been part of the fast-paced world of journalism since she was 15, getting her start in album reviews and live concert coverage for a nationally published (print) music magazine. She eventually transitioned to online media, writing for such sites as UGO/IGN, ComicsOnline, Geek Magazine, Ace of Geeks, Aggressive Comix (where she is still Editor-in-Chief), and most recently Bleeding Cool. 

Over the past 10 years, she’s built a presence at conventions across the globe as a cosplayer (occasionally), photographer (constantly), panelist and moderator (mostly), and reporter (always). 

 Interviews, reviews, observations, breaking news, and objective reporting are the name of the game for the founder of Harkonnen Knife Fight, a Dune-themed band with an international presence. 

 Though she be but little, she is fierce. #MabTheProfessional
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