'The Lion King' Live-Action Movie: 'The Daily Show' Correspondent John Oliver Tapped to Voice Zazu
As production for Walt Disney Pictures' live-action adaptation of "The Lion King" gets underway, casting reports about the film are now starting to surface. Just this week, it was confirmed that "Last Week Tonight" star John Oliver is joining the cast to lend his voice to Zazu.
In the film, Zazu is the red-billed hornbill who is also the feathered royal advisor of Mufasa and eventually of Simba. In the 1994 adaptation of the Disney classic, the character was voiced by actor Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean. "The Lion King" depicts him as being upright and dignified, although there are times he tends to be easily rattled and panicky during emergencies.
Now that "The Daily Show" correspondent Oliver is confirmed to voice the character, it is exciting to know how he will breathe life to Zazu in the upcoming movie. Previously, he also voiced Vanity Smurf in "The Smurfs" and "The Smurfs 2" and guested on "Rick and Morty," "Bob's Burgers" and "The Simpsons." It is thus safe to say that he is no novice to the job.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Joining Oliver in the movie are Donald Glover as Simba, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa and Billy Eichner as Timon. Jones was also the voice of Mufasa in the 1994 animated film. As for Nala, reports claim that the first choice for the role was Beyonce, but the singer rejected the offer due to conflicts with her schedule.
Directed by Jon Favreau, "The Lion King" comes as an offshoot of the success of another Disney live-action film, "The Jungle Book," which was released and broke box office records last year. Because of this, Disney decided to tap Favreau again to helm the upcoming "The Lion King" movie.
"The Lion King" will not hit theaters until July 19, 2019 so fans should stay tuned for more updates.
