The Lion King (2019 film)

The Lion King is an upcoming American musical drama film, directed and co-produced by Jon Favreau, produced by Warner Bros. Pictures in North America and Paramount Pictures in International, and written by Jeff Nathanson. It is the remake of 1994 animated film of the same name and inspired in part by William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The film stars the voices of Donald Glover, Beyoncé, James Earl Jones, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, John Oliver, John Kani, Alfre Woodard, Eric Andre, Florence Kasumba, Keegan-Michael Key, J.D. McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph. It is set to be released on July 19, 2019.

Voice cast

 * Main article: List of The Lion King characters


 * Donald Glover as Simba
 * J.D. McCrary as young Simba
 * Beyoncé as Nala
 * Shahadi Wright Joseph as young Nala
 * James Earl Jones as Mufasa
 * Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar
 * Billy Eichner as Timon
 * Seth Rogen as Pumbaa
 * John Oliver as Zazu
 * John Kani as Rafiki
 * Alfre Woodard as Sarabi
 * Eric Andre as Azizi
 * Florence Kasumba as Shenzi
 * Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari

Development
On September 28, 2016, Walt Disney Pictures confirmed that Jon Favreau would be directing a fast-tracked remake of the 1994 animated film The Lion King, which would feature the songs from the 1994 film, following a string of recent box office successes on the other Disney remake films such as Maleficent, Cinderella, The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast with the latter three also earning critical praise. Later on October 13, it was reported that Disney had hired Jeff Nathanson to write the screenplay for the remake. In November, talking with ComingSoon.net, Favreau said the virtual cinematography technology he used in The Jungle Book would be used to a greater degree in The Lion King.

Casting
In mid-February 2017, Donald Glover was cast as Simba, with James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa from the 1994 film.

In April, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen were cast to play Timon and Pumbaa respectively. In July, John Oliver was cast as Zazu.In August, Alfre Woodard and John Kani were announced to play Sarabi and Rafiki, respectively.

Earlier in March, it was announced that Beyoncé was Favreau's top choice for the role of Nala and that the director and studio would be willing to do whatever it took to accommodate her busy schedule. Later on November 1, her role was confirmed in an official announcement, which also confirmed that Chiwetel Ejiofor would play the role of Scar as he had impressed Favreau after watching his antagonistic performance as Baron Mordo in the Marvel film Doctor Strange (2016). Other stars Eric Andre, Florence Kasumba, Keegan-Michael Key will be the voices of Azizi, Shenzi and Kamari while JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph will be the voices of young Simba and young Nala, respectively.

Filming
Production on the film commenced in the summer of 2017, on a blue screen stage in Los Angeles, California.

Music
On November 1, 2017, it was announced that Hans Zimmer would return to score the film, having previously scored the 1994 animated version. On November 28, 2017, it was reported that Elton John had signed onto the project to rework his musical compositions from the original film before his retirement. The following day it was reported that Beyoncé would be assisting John in the reworking of the soundtrack. On February 9, 2018, John reported that he, Tim Rice and Beyoncé would create a new song for the end credits of the film. Later that month, it was revealed that four songs from the original film would be included in the film: "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", "Hakuna Matata", "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", and "Circle of Life".

Release
The Lion King is scheduled to be released on July 19, 2019, which marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the original film.