To celebrate the release of the hugely anticipated remake of Disney’s The Lion King, we had the pleasure of sitting down with some of those responsible for it and finding out how they brought it to life.

The film, which is released in cinemas this Friday, brings the original 1994 to life once more in a new way, using photorealistic CGI to recreate the African savannas and the animal characters we know and love. Director Jon Favreau (Iron Man) told us about the job he had on his hands to pull off such a feat, one helped by reacquiring the talents of legendary composer Hans Zimmer, whose timeless score is given its own modern retelling.

In addition, we spoke to Oscar Nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) about bringing a new lease of life to the film’s chief antagonist, the villainous Scar.

You can view all our interviews in full below:

 

The Lion King opens on July 19th.