Bill Murray was added to the growing cast list for Jon Favreau’s live-action/animation hybrid The Jungle Book remake yesterday and will be voicing Baloo the Bear. Also included in the film’s voice cast so far are Idris Elba (Shere Khan), Ben Kingsley (Bagheera), Christopher Walken (King Louie), Lupita Nyong’o (Raksha), Giancarlo Esposito (Akela) and Scarlett Johansson (Kaa). The Jungle Book is currently set to be released October 9, 2015.
I can’t exactly picture Murray singing “Bare Necessities” but other than that this seems like a pretty solid casting choice. Bill Murray is perfect fit for the rather laid back personality that Baloo has become known for since Disney released the first Jungle Book back in 1967. Murray has also proven himself to be quite gifted at balancing comedy and drama (as we were helpfully reminded of in Zombieland).
As a matter of fact, this whole cast feels pretty solid so far. It will be interesting to see Idris Elba playing the villain, Ben Kingsley is a good fit for the serious minded Bagheera and I’m not going to argue with Giancarlo Esposito being cast for anything.
Do you think Bill Murray makes a good fit for Baloo? How about the rest of the cast? Could the Jungle Book remake actually be good? Tell us your thoughts in the comment section below.
Source: Ain’t It Cool News