Casting The Lion King Remake

Zazu – Don Cheadle

This is another character that I think should be taken in an entirely different direction from the original. I’ve heard people suggest Hugh Laurie for this role, another British comedian from Blackadder. He would be great, but he would also blend into Rowan Atkinson’s performance. Don Cheadle, on the other hand, while an entirely different kind of performer, is fantastic at playing the perplexed middle man. He has to do it all the time dealing with Tony Stark, and in something like Reign Over Me, he’s the sobering anchor to the craziness around him. His Zazu would not be such broad comic relief. He would be more dryly sarcastic and reasonable, which would make us more aggravated with young Simba for not listening to him.