You can’t really jump into Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events without immediately accepting the strength of the narrator’s voice. Lemony Snicket is there in every page of the story. And with the latest casting news out of Netflix this morning, we can expect that the same will continue with their new adaptation of the classic tale, as Patrick Warburton has been announced as the voice of the mysterious author Lemony Snicket.

Fans of the original film starring Jim Carrey (in the role that Neil Patrick Harris will be playing in this remake) will remember that the narrator was voiced by Jude Law. The role calls for an authorial intent that few have the gravitas to pull off successfully, but Warburton would definitely be at the top of my list for “People I can listen to all day.” You are probably familiar with his work on the fun ensemble comedy Rules of Engagement or The Tick, but fans of a certain age will quickly realize they’ve heard his voice as he was the hilarious voice talent behind Kronk in Disney’s The Emperor’s New Groove in 2000.

Warburton’s casting in A Series of Unfortunate Events reunites him with the series’ director Barry Sonnenfeld, who was also an executive producer on Fox’s 2001 The Tick. He joins now-confirmed castmates Neil Patrick Harris, Malina Weissman, and Louis Hynes in this Netflix series. Remakes come and go with mixed levels of success, but I have to admit that, as a fan of the books, I’m pretty excited to see this cast take on the stories that follow the orphaned Baudelaire children as they seek to survive the villainy of Count Olaf and discover the truth behind their parents’ deaths.

Netflix has not yet announced a release date for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events though there was rumor it had begun filming in Vancouver this month. Are you as excited for this new series as we are? Tell us in the comments below!

HT: Deadline
Image Credit: Gage Skidmore/Flickr