Disney is bringing back a long-lost character — and cast is now confirmed

When he’s not playing Happy in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Jon Favreau keeps pretty busy, popping up in several other original Disney+ shows, including the flagship The Mandalorian, which he wrote and directed, and its spin-offs. Now, he’s taking on a forgotten favourite: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

The new film is an animated-live-action hybrid about the eponymous Oswald - a saucy, self-absorbed bunny.

The original cartoon starred in 27 animated short films between 1927 and 1938. More recently, Oswald appeared in games, including Disney’s 2010 Epic Mickey and its follow-ups.

Jon Favreau is developing the show, taking on both the writing and production with Walt Disney Studios.

Three of the major roles have had their casting confirmed, Deadline reported. Ravi Cobot-Conyers will play Jake, a kind and hardworking middle-school student. Joining him will be Mykal-Michelle Harris, who plays Jen, an artistic middle schooler who is always one step ahead. Ryder Allen will play Taylor, a fellow middle school student who is the more cautious of the gang but will go outside of his comfort zone to help his friends.

The three child actors already have some impressive credits on their IMDB page; Cabot-Conyers’ recent credits include playing Wim in the Disney+ show Skeleton Crew, and was Antonio in Encanto. Harris starred opposite Nicole Kidman in Big Little Lies and in ABC’s Mixed-ish, amongst other credits. Allen most recently starred opposite Colin Farrell in HBO Max’s The Penguin and played Sam alongside Justin Timberlake in the Apple film Palmer. Anyone else feeling severely underachieving?

No other casting announcements have been made, although given Disney’s track record, we wouldn’t be surprised if some more starry names crop up soon. We also don’t have a rumoured release date yet, but considering the project is still in casting talks, it looks like it will probably be a while until we see Oswald on our screens.

• Netflix just added 'one of the best crime films of all time' — and it's finally getting a sequel