It’s our problem-free philosophy, so they say. Pre-production has begun at Disney on their latest and highly anticipated live-action remake of The Lion King, which is being directed by Jon Favreau who made last year’s The Jungle Book remake for the studio.
After the success of Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast (the latter of which has just passed the $1billion at the worldwide box office), many of the studio’s animated classics are getting the remake treatment but the story of the young cub who became King of Pride Rock is perhaps the most eagerly-awaited. And work is cranking up on the film with casting and The Wrap has reported that the comedic duo of Timon and Pumbaa have been found in the form of Seth Rogen (Sausage Party) and Billy Eichner (American Horror Story).
The actors, who co-starred in last year’s Bad Neighbours 2, have joined a cast that has already secured the talents of Donald Glover (soon to be seen in the Han Solo spin off) as Simba and James Earl Jones who reprises his role as Mufasa from the 1994 original. Rumours last month suggested Beyonce was in talks to play Simba’s eventual partner Nala but those rumours have yet to be confirmed.
Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella voiced the duo in the first film. Now we await news on the remaining characters left to be cast, including the villainous Scar and Mufasa’s “right-hand-bird” Zaza. So far thought Favreau has surprised many with his casting but all of which are very good choices, with Rogen and Glover’s casting, in particular, a masterstroke and if he secures a big name for Scar, we are in for an even bigger treat than before. We simply cannot wait to see how this one all comes together.
The Lion King is now officially set for release on July 19th, 2019.
