KEVIN JAMES - KEVIN JAMES: FROM MALL COP TO ZOOKEEPER

KEVIN JAMES: FROM MALL COP TO ZOOKEEPER

Comedy actor Kevin James has signed up to take the lead role in upcoming family film The Zookeeper.

After topping the US box office with his recent film Paul Blart: Mall Cop, the Hitch star will launch another assault on cinemagoers' wallets with the upcoming Frank Coraci film, Variety reports.

The Zookeeper, written by Jay Scherick and David Ronn, tells of a lonely zoo employee who decides to quit his job due to its hampering his love life.

But when the zookeeper attempts to find love outside the animal park, its inhabitants intervene.

The script was the subject of a bidding war last April, with MGM believed to have paid $2 million for the rights.

Producer Todd Garner explained James was his first choice to play the zookeeper due to his talent for physical comedy.

The King of Queens actor recently signed on to star in a high school reunion comedy alongside Chris Rock and Adam Sandler.