Last fall, while we were all reeling from the remake of The Jungle Book and anticipating the release of the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, Disney announced plans to give The Lion King the same live-action treatment that the other classics got.
Lately, Disney has found success in re-imagining their old movies. Beauty and the Beast raked in over $1 billion, so it is a no-brainer that they're taking on one of the best animated movies next.
The company confirmed that Jon Favreau, the director behind the latest Jungle Book film, will spearhead the project, but at the time they did not provide us with information about the cast or a release date.
Now, over a year since Disney spilled the beans, we finally know when the movie will hit theaters and who will be starring in it.
Many fans had hoped that the original cast would reunite for the remake because honestly, it's hard to imagine Simba without Jonathan Taylor Thomas' raspy voice or Rowan Atkinson as Zazu, but sadly only James Earl Jones will reprise is role as Mufasa.
With that said, the new cast features some major talent and we're absolutely excited to see them bring one of our favorite movies to life again.
So who made the cut?
Rumors about The Lion King's potential cast have been swirling for some time, and now we have have confirmation.
Last night, Disney sent out a tweet with a photo of the entire cast that will be voicing the characters in the upcoming remake.
Actor and rapper Donald Glover, best known for his role in Community, will take on Simba, and Beyonce will be his Nala.
Academy Award winning actor Chietwel Ejiofor will play the villainous Scar while Alfre Woodard will star as Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, John Kane as Rafiki, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, Eric Andre as Azizi, Florence Karumba as Shenzi, and Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari.
If you're skeptical about the quality of the remake, don't worry, Jon Favreau will be applying the same technology he used in The Jungle Book, which was an instant box-office hit. Since The Lion King featured animals only, the new version will be made with CGI characters, which technically still makes it an animated movie.
Along with the photo of the star-studded cast, Disney revealed that the movie will be on the big screen on July 19, 2019.
That sounds like a long time to wait, but we will at least have other films from the company to hold us over till then.
Next year, Disney is scheduled to release a live-action musical version of Snow White as well as a remake of Sister Act and Oliver Twist.
What do you think of the cast?