John Oliver has joined the cast of Jon Favreau’s live-action/CGI remake of The Lion King, according to The Wrap.
The late night talk show host is best-known for his show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Oliver is no stranger to voice acting, having done stints for The Simpsons and Bob’s Burgers as well as playing the Vanity Smurf in the Smurfs franchise for Sony, and he’ll star in Amusement Park, which is currently in production, alongside Mila Kunis, Jennifer Garner and Matthew Broderick.
If you haven’t already guessed it, Oliver is to play none other than Zazu, the king’s red-billed hornbill advisor, a part brought to life by Mr Bean’s Rowan Atkinson in the animated original.
The cast confirmed so far includes Donald Glover, who will be playing Simba, James Earl Jones, who is returning to play Mufasa, and Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner as Pumbaa and Timon, respectively. Jon Favreau, who previously directed the hugely successful The Jungle Book remake, is helming.
The Lion King remake will hit cinemas July 19th 2019.
