For Jon Favreau’s upcoming reboot of The Lion King, all your favorite characters from the Pride Lands – from Simba to Scar and everyone in between – will be getting the live-action treatment for what appears to be the most star-studded Disney movie we’ve ever seen.
Seriously, one glance at the casting docket reveals that Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and James Earl Jones (Star Wars) have signed on to voice Nala and Mufasa, respectively, while Chiwetel Ejiofor is set to take on the role of the villainous Scar. And it gets even better, as Donald Glover (Atlanta, Solo: A Star Wars Story) will feature in Disney’s remake as Simba, the lion who would be king, while Seth Rogen’s on board to bring to life the loveable Pumbaa.
Speaking of which, the actor recently took to Instagram to share a new BTS shot featuring himself, Favreau, Glover and Billy Eichner, who’ll voice Timon. Granted, this photo doesn’t reveal anything about the film itself, but it’s nice to see the gang together regardless, hard at work on bringing the project to theaters.
Besides, with production now underway, we’ll likely get a proper look at the movie soon. It’s set to arrive on July 19th, so with any luck, we may see a quick teaser before the year’s up. If not, then early 2019 will definitely bring us some footage to feast on.
Behind the scenes for this reimagining is Jeff Nathanson (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales) on script duties, while both Beyoncé and Elton John will assist with the music, and after the back-to-back success of The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast, the studio will surely be hoping to make it three for three with their live-action remakes.
Of course, The Lion King is just one of a whole host of classic Disney animated properties being given a new coat of paint. Others on the way include Dumbo, Mulan and Aladdin. The tale of the flying elephant is first out the door, as it arrives on March 29th, 2019. The story of Simba and his pals is then set to land in cinemas, as mentioned above, on July 19th.