Disney is making a live-action adaptation of The Lion King (just as it has done for Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book) and whether or not that’s a good idea, the cast is absolutely incredible.
We have known since earlier this year that Donald Glover will voice Simba and that James Earl Jones will reprise his role as Mufasa, but Disney announced Wednesday that Beyonce will play Nala and Chiwetel Ejiofor will portray Scar. But forget the major roles. Even the bit roles will feature big names. John Oliver will be Zazu, Seth Rogen will be Pumbaa, Billy Eichner will be Timon, and Eric Andre and Keegan-Michael Key will be hyenas (who have different names than they did in the 1994 original).
Here’s the full list:
There’s some reason to be skeptical of this movie. For one thing, the original Lion King is arguably the best animated movie of all-time, and the reboot basically can’t be as good. It just won’t be the same without Matthew Broderick as Simba and Jeremy Irons as Scar. Plus, we’ve already seen a live-action adaption of the Lion King — it has has been running on Broadway and around the world since 1997.
But then you look at the cast and… whew, it’s hard not to be excited. Alas, we have some time to wait. The film will not be released until Summer 2019.