As Zazu

John Oliver has joined the cast of the live action remake of the Lion King.

The comedian will play Zazu, the hornbill originally voiced by Rowan Atkinson in the original 1996 animated film. He is a political advisor to Simba and Mustafa.

He joins a voice cast that includes Donald Glover as Simba, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, as well as Seth Rogen as Pumbaa and  Billy Eichner as Timon.

 Iron Man director Jon Favreau is remaking the animation as a mix of live-action and CGI animals, similar to his last film, The Jungle Book 

Oliver has previously voiced Vanity Smurf in The Smurfs movies.

The Lion King is expected to be released on July 19, 2019.

Here is Atkinson in the original:

Published: 11 Jul 2017