Bill Murray Joins 'The Jungle Book' Cast
by Shannon Keirnan
Bill Murray has been slated to join an already star-studded cast for Disney's reboot of "The Jungle Book."
Murray will be voicing the loveable bear Baloon, because, duh. Who else?
He joins Christopher Walken as the orangutan King Louie, Scarlett Johansson as the snake Kaa, Ben Kingsley as panther Bagheera, Luptia Nyong'o as the wolf Raksha, and Idris Elba as tiger Shere Khan. Newcomer Neel Sethi will play Mowgli, the orphaned boy raised by wolves who takes up with the easy-going bear.
The project, directed by Jon Favreau ("Iron Man"), is set to release in October of 2015, and will feature a mix of live-action and animation. Favreau announced the newest cast member on Friday via his Instagram, where he posted a shot of Mowgli and Baloo from the 1967 film, along with a "Caddyshack" reference: "Looks like we cast our Baloo. So we have that going for us. Which is nice."
Will Murray get to sing his own rendition of Phil Harris' classic "The Bear Necessities?" Fingers crossed.
Hopefully you can't get enough of those Kipling characters, because a year after "The Jungle Book," a 3D "Jungle Book"-based film called "Jungle Book: Origins" will be released, Warner Bros. announced on Friday.
"Jungle Book: Origins" is directed by Andy Serkis, of "Lord of the Rings" fame, and hits in October of 2016.
What do you think of this sudden flux of "Jungle Book" flicks? Will you be hitting the theaters?