‘The Lion King‘ remake has finally announced it’s full cast. Based on the announcement, Jon Favreau‘s “live-action” remake of the Disney classic is shaping up to have an absolutely stellar cast. Since pretty much the entire movie in intended shot on a blue screen stage, the casting announcements been few and far between, until now. The film was green-lit in late 2016 and fast tracked in response to the success of ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ at the box office.
The film began shooting in March of this year, and Favreau and co. were quick to cast Donald Glover as Simba and James Earl Jones as Mufasa (reprising his role from the original). In the following months, Billy Eichner as Timon, Seth Rogen as Puumba, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, John Kane as Rafiki were all added to the cast. With this announcement, all of the major roles re finalized with Beyonce Knowles-Carter as Nala, , Chietwel Ejiofor as Scar, Eric Andre as Azizi, Florence Karumba as Shenzi, and Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari. Here’s the official image announcing the full cast, which came curtosey Disney’s twitter:
Image via Disney
Naturally, it’s easy to be skeptical about a remake of such a beloved film as ‘The Lion King‘, but I honestly think that it’s in the best possible hands with Jon Favreau. Calling it a “live action” remake is a bit of stretch, but the film will film is set to employ a much more extreme use of the motion capture technology that helped make Favreau’s ‘Jungle Book‘ remake. The only real difference here is that the story of’ The Lion King‘ doesn’t feature any human characters. Even if the film ends up being awful, it should at least be a interesting experiment to see how much of a “live action” hybrid this will end up being, as opposed to straight animation.
Only time will tell, as the film is set to be released on July 19, 2019. In the meantime, here’s the official synopsis:
From Disney Live Action, director Jon Favreau’s all-new “The Lion King” journeys to the African savanna where a future king is born. Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub’s arrival. Scar, Mufasa’s brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba’s exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his. The all-star cast includes Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Billy Eichner as Timon and Seth Rogen as Pumbaa. Utilizing pioneering filmmaking techniques to bring treasured characters to life in a whole new way, “The Lion King” roars into theaters on July 19, 2019.
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