John Boyega to Voice a Talking Rabbit in Netflix's 'Watership Down' Miniseries

'Star Wars' is cool and all but rabbits just might be cooler.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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Fans of rabbits and/or classic literature are very familiar with Watership Down, the 1972 Richard Adams novel centered on an existentially challenged band of rabbits. To make sure we stay familiar, Deadlinereports that Netflix and BBC One are bringing Watership Down back to life as a four-part miniseries starring semi-fresh Star Wars recruit John Boyega.

"Before there was Harry Potter there was Watership Down," BBC Drama Commissioning Editor Matthew Read told Deadline of the animated update. "Richard Adams' novel is one of the most successful books of all time and one of the biggest-selling books in history. It is fantastic to have the opportunity to bring a modern classic to a mainstream BBC One audience with such an incredible roster of actors alongside the talented team overseeing the animation." Boyega, who later revealed on Twitter that he would be voicing the character Bigwig, will be joined by James McAvoy, Nicholas Hoult, Gemma Arterton, and Ben Kingsley.

The critically acclaimed novel was previously adapted into an animated movie in 1978, helmed by Martin Rosen. That take on the Adams classic ultimately nabbed a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation and was named by Channel 4 as one of the 100 Greatest Cartoons of all time in 2006. The latest production makes Boyega, who's already tasked with more Star Wars perfection in the near future, a very busy guy indeed.

Back in January, Boyega signed on to lend his voice talents to Nickelodeon's Tinkershrimp & Dutch. Though not as immediately bragworthy as voicing a hyper-intelligent rabbit, that series gave Boyega the unique opportunity of portraying a loris. Rabbits, as history has shown, are much (so much) cooler than any given loris.

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