Beyoncé is the latest big name to join the cast of Jon Favreau’s live action movie version of Disney’s The Lion King.
The pop princess will take on the role of Nala opposite Donald Glover (soon to be seen in Ron Howard’s Star Wars spin-off movie Solo: A Star Wars Story) who will play Simba in the film which is lined up for a release date of summer 2019.
Iron Man helmer Favreau, who also directed the recent live action version of the classic The Jungle Book, will direct a script adapted from the 1994 screenplay for the animated movie by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton.
The star-studded line-up includes: James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Chiwetel Ejiofo as Scar, Alfre Woodward as Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, John Kani as Rafiki, Seth Rogan as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, Eric Andre as Azizi, Florence Kasumba as Shenzi, Keegan Michael as Kamari, and JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph as the young versions of Simba and Nala.
Following on from the success of live action reboots of Disney classics including Cinderella and Beauty & the Beast, the new movie version of The Lion King represents a return to the big screen for the story which now forms the basis for one of the most popular stage musicals of all time.
Produced by Disney Theatricals Productions, Julie Taymor’s internationally-celebrated stage adaptation of Disney’s much-loved animated film premiered on Broadway in 1997 and has now been seen by more than 90 million people across six continents. Ten productions are running concurrently around the globe. In addition to the record-breaking productions in London and New York, it can currently be seen in Hamburg, Madrid, Mexico City, Sapporo, Scheveningen, Shanghai, Tokyo, and on tour across North America.
Angela Thomas
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