Yesterday, the news came out that Benedict Cumberbatch will be providing the voice of Shere Khan in the Andy Serkis–directed adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. Today, the rest of the cast was announced and, boy, are two of these people famous. The Hollywood Reporter reports Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett will provide the voice of animals. No, Bale is not going to voice a bat, sillies. He’ll be Bagheera, a panther and the human protagonist Mowgli’s guide through all the jungle bookery. Cate Blanchett will voice Kaa, the python who in the Disney cartoon constantly tries and fails to eat Mowgli. Rohan Chand, who co-starred in Jason Bateman’s Bad Words, will voice Mowgli. Serkis will play Baloo. The cast will also include Naomie Harris, Tom Hollander, Eddie Marsan, and Peter Mullan. It doesn’t look like anyone will play orangutan Louie, which is a shame because “I Want to Be Like You” is everything.
