Bill Murray to Lend Voice to 'Baloo' in Disney's THE JUNGLE BOOK

Veteran actor Bill Murray has joined the cast of Disney's The Jungle Book as the voice of Baloo.

Disney recently announced that Academy Award winner Christopher Walken will play King Louie, while Giancarlo Esposito will play Akela, and the previously confirmed cast includes Academy Award winners Ben Kingsley and Lupita Nyong'o as Bagheera and Raksha, respectively; Golden Globe winner Idris Elba as Shere Khan; Scarlett Johansson as Kaa; and newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli.

THE JUNGLE BOOK is a combination of live-action and animation, directed by Jon Favreau from a script by Justin Marks. The film will be released in 3D and arrives in theaters on October 9, 2015.

Murray's upcoming screen projects include the TV mini-series Olive Kitteridge, as well as St. Vincent, Rock the Kasbah and B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherwordly Operations on the big screen. The actor recently appeared in The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Monuments Men, Moonrise Kingdom and Passion Play. Murray is well known for his roles in Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day, Lost in Translation and more.