This Is Some Damn Good Casting

It's been a good day for Lupita Nyong'o and a good day to be a fan of Lupita Nyong'o: Not only was the Oscar winner named People 's most beautiful person, now both Lupita Nyong'o and Scarlett Johansson are in talks for the adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. Idria Elba has already been cast in the project as the voice of man-eating tiger Shere Khan, which will reportedly be a hybrid of live-action and CG. And given these three casting decisions alone this thing's already got us paying attention.

Johansson, who got Oscar buzz for her voice work in Her even despite the Oscars not having a category for that kind of work, is in talks to voice Kaa, the python who hyptonizes animals and then eats them. Johansson's still in early talks, while Nyongo's negotiations are further along: She's in talks to voice Rakcha, described by THR as "a mother wolf who adopts Mowgli."

Though it seems her role won't be part of the live-action aspect of the film, this still marks Nyong'o's first major casting since winning her Oscar this past March. It's a move we've all been waiting for since before she got her golden statue, so it's a bit of a relief to finally have proof that Nyong'o's gonna keep on keeping on in Hollywood.

Nyong'o, Elba, and Johansson all have the kind of voices you can "picture" in your head quite clearly upon thinking about them. Combine that with how damn fine that press tour's gonna be? This one sounds like a winner.