Aside from its animated feature films and behemoth franchises like Star Wars and the MCU, Disney has a new genre that's been proving very successful: live-action adaptations. Starting with movies like Maleficent and Sleeping Beauty, the House of Mouse has begun producing live-action versions of some of their most iconic animated movies. Now Disney is turning its head on the Oscar nominated classic The Lion King, and bringing in some insane talent to fill out the voice cast. While there's plenty of attention being paid to Beyonce and Donald Glover's upcoming performance as Nala and Simba, the supporting cast is also star filled. Seth Rogen will be playing the beloved warthog Pumbaa in The Lion King, and recently revealed why he's so jazzed to be apart of the A-list cast.
It's thrilling! It's amazing for many reasons. One is because I'm a big fan of The Lion King. Two is because it's the most expensive movie I'll have anything to do with probably, so that's thrilling. Jon Favreau, the director, I've known since I was 18, is a very close friend of mine. So again, it's always exciting to get to work with people that you know well. Yeah and we're good friends. Overall it's surreal. It will be weird when it comes out.
Looks like Seth Rogen is #humble. While he's been working since back in Freaks and Geeks, The Lion King marks the actor's most expensive and biggest flick to date. Pair that with the rest of the cast and director Jon Favreau, and Rogen is downright thrilled to be included.
Seth Rogen's comments to ET echo the excitement and anticipation fans are feeling about a live-action version of The Lion King. While the upcoming adaptation is still a year away, the idea of seeing a new, rich version of the iconic animated blockbuster is enticing.
Seth Rogen will be playing Pumbaa in The Lion King, a role originated by Ernie Sabella in the original 1994 classic. A warthog with a flatulence problem, Rogen will be sharing the majority of his scenes and songs with Billy Eichner's Timon. The pair is a dynamic duo and casting gold, especially if they're able to riff and improv with each other in the booth. It should be interesting to hear Rogen's singing voice, as Pumbaa has a major vocal feature in Hakuna Matata (it means no worries).
Disney's live-action Lion King will arrive in theaters on July 19, 2019. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
