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Donald Glover, Beyoncé, James Earl Jones To Star In 2019 'Lion King' Remake
Walt Disney Studios took to Twitter on Wednesday to announce the lineup for its highly anticipated 2019 reboot of The Lion King. To call it a star-studded cast is a bit of an understatement, as the film will feature Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar and James Earl Jones reprising his original role as Mufasa.
The film will also feature a wealth of other stars, including actress Alfre Woodard as Simba's mother Sarabi, and late-night host John Oliver as helpful hornbill Zazu. Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen will play the meerkat-and-warthog duo of Timon and Pumbaa; comedians Eric Andre and Keegan-Michael Key will lend their voices to the film as well, and actress Florence Kasumba will appear as antagonistic hyena Shenzi.
The CGI-animated remake of The Lion King is being directed by Jon Favreau (the Iron Man director, not the podcast host) and is slated for release in summer 2019, twenty-five years after the original film premiered in 1994.
#TheLionKing. 2019. 🦁👑 pic.twitter.com/rSDPkE6nWk
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) November 1, 2017
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Rumors have swirled in Hollywood for months about Beyoncé's reported attachment to the project, but she waited until Wednesday to confirm her role as Nala in a Facebook post. Now that we know Queen Bey herself will be starring alongside Donald Glover's Simba, we can look forward to a whole new generation of kids insisting on listening to "Can You Feel The Love Tonight" forty times in a row on car trips.
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