The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle: Robert Downey Jr unveils stellar voice cast

They'll play a variety of animals

(Getty)

2019 is going to be a big year for VFX-laden, celebrity-voiced remakes of beloved animal-centric properties.

We already knew about The Lion King one, which will feature the voices of Donald Glover, Beyoncé, James Earl Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, John Oliver, Eric Andre, Keegan-Michael Key and more, but now The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle has been given a similarly all-star voice cast.

Robert Downey Jr., who will play the titular doctor, posted it on Twitter last night, the highlights including Emma Thompson as a parrot, Selena Gomez as a giraffe, Kumail Nanjiani as an ostrich, Ralph Fiennes as a tiger, Octavia Spencer as a duck, Rami Malek as a gorilla, Tom Holland as a dog, Marion Cotillard as a fox and John Cena as a polar bear.

Jim Broadbent, Antonio Banderas, and Michael Sheen, meanwhile, will portray live-action characters.

Stephen Gaghan (Syriana, Gold) is the somewhat unlikely director for the remake, which follows the Eddie Murphy-starring 1998 film and its 2001 sequel, these also being remakes of a 1967 musical that picked up a couple of Oscars.

The character of Doctor Dolittle, who chooses to treat animals because he can talk to them, originates in Hugh Lofting's 1920s series of children's books.

Universal acquired The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, which is set for release on 12 April, 2019.