Hakuna matata! Disney has confirmed that the queen, Beyonce Knowles-Carter, has joined the cast of the live-action remake of The Lion King. She will be playing Nala. There have been rumors for months that Beyonce has been approached to play Simba’s love interest. It has been put to an end with Disney’s announcement that she will indeed be part of the movie.
Atlanta star Donald Glover will play Simba, Oscar nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor will voice the villainous Scar, and James Earl Jones will reprise the role of Mufasa from the original movie. The cast also includes Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, Eric Andre as Azizi, Florence Kasumba as Shenzi, Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari, JD McCrary as Young Simba, and Shahadi Wright Joseph as Young Nala. Disney confirmed the full casting of the film in their tweet:
#TheLionKing. 2019. 🦁👑 pic.twitter.com/UMJo18FwDt
— Disney (@Disney) November 1, 2017
Jon Favreau, who directed The Jungle Book live-action remake, will direct the film. He will also produce along with Karen Gilchrist and Jeffrey Silver. Jeff Nathanson wrote the script. It is set to be released on July 19, 2019. The film is expected to be a musical, with songs from the original expected to be featured here as well. Hans Zimmer will also score the film, reprising his role from the original. The virtual reality technology used in The Jungle Book will also be used here according to Favreau. Production has already commenced last summer. A jaw-dropping first footage was shown during the D23 event.
The original 1994 film was released to critical and commercial acclaim. It became the highest-grossing traditionally animated film of all time with a gross of more than $900 million. It won two Oscars for Best Original Score and Best Original Song. It also spawned a Tony-winning Broadway musical. The 2019 release date will be just in time for the original’s 25th anniversary.
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