Disney's ongoing development of live-action remakes of its beloved animated classics is in full-swing since re-imaginings of Dumbo, Aladdin and The Lion King are set to debut in 2019. Regarding that last project, we just can't wait to see Donald Glover be king as Simba in Jon Favreau's remake of one of Disney's most celebrated musicals. After quite a bit of radio silence on the exciting release, the director released himself with some of the Lion King cast during a recording session, with Glover repping one of the members of studio's Fab Four. Check it out:
The fashionable quadruple-threat may be donning a super-slick pose in the tweet alongside director Jon Favreau and his co-stars Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner, but his Donald Duck shirt screams Disney fanboy. Considering Donald Glover is playing Simba, Rogen will be Pumbaa and Eichner will be Timon, the best guess is the trio was recording a new version of "Hakuna Matata" for the live-action film. The R&B stylings of Glover, known in the music world as Childish Gambino, combined with the comedians next to him in the above will be a spectacle in of itself when the new The Lion King comes out in summer 2019. Glover also has roots as a stand-up comedian, so he fits right in.
Disney's new Simba also had the opportunity to play another iconic character for the studio earlier this year in Solo: A Star Wars Story as a young Lando Calrissian. Donald Glover has spent his career thus far doing a variety of projects, including starring in the comedy TV series Community, writing quite a few highly-successful albums as Childish Gambino, and writing and starring in the FX series Atlanta. Glover's partnership with Disney propels him in the mainstream in a way he's never been in before.
Aside from Donald Glover's starring talent, Beyoncé is also offering up her vocal talents as Nala in the upcoming The Lion King live-action project. The film consists of many other hilarious actors such as Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari, Eric André as Azizi and John Oliver as Zazu. The impressive ensemble also includes Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, John Kani as Rafiki and James Earl Jones reprising Mufasa, because of course. Elton John also recently said he is returning to compose some additional songs for the end, resulting in him teaming up with Beyoncé. It's a lot to take in, and hopefully more cast photos such as this will come out, as each of them filter in and out of the recording studio for The Lion King.
With the remake less than a year away, Disney fans are getting excited to see the sun roll high through the sapphire sky once again, this time with more realistic animation for the animals residing in Pride Rock. The Lion King comes to theaters on June 19, 2019.
