In Disney’s 2016 film The Jungle Book, who voices the orangutan-like character King Louie?

In Disney’s 2016 film The Jungle Book, Christopher Walken voices King Louie.

King Louie is reimagined for the 2016 film as a gigantic Gigantopithecus-like ape rather than the orangutan-style character associated with the 1967 animation. He rules from an ancient temple and tries to persuade Mowgli to share the secret of making fire.

Walken’s distinctive delivery gives the character a theatrical, unpredictable presence. He also performs “I Wan’na Be Like You” in the film, connecting the newer adaptation to the famous song from the 1967 version.

The character’s species has generated frequent discussion because Gigantopithecus was extinct and is known from fossil evidence, while orangutans are living great apes. The 2016 film’s choice was a creative adaptation rather than a strict zoological continuation of the earlier movie.