With a little over two weeks to go until The Lion King arrives in cinemas, Disney has released a batch of character portraits for director Jon Favreau’s (The Jungle Book) upcoming remake of the beloved 1994 animated classic which feature the voice actors and their CG-animated counterparts Donald Glover (Simba), Beyonce (Nala), Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, and John Oliver (Timon, Pumbaa, and Zazu), Alfre Woodard (Sarabi), Chiwetel Ejiofor (Scar), Keegan-Michael Key, Florence Kasumba, and Eric Andre (Kamari, Shenzi, and Azizi), and JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph (young Simba and Nala); check them out below, along with a new featurette which includes interviews with the cast and crew of the movie…
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🦁👑 #thelionking pic.twitter.com/2fX2NC7ucm
— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) July 2, 2019
🦁👑 #thelionking pic.twitter.com/inMIl5LZMF
— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) July 2, 2019
Lions rule the African savanna in The Lion King, which welcomes Donald Glover (Atlanta, Solo: A Star Wars Story) as future king Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (Dreamgirls, Lemonade visual album) as Simba’s friend-turned-love interest Nala, and James Earl Jones (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Field of Dreams) as Simba’s wise and loving father, Mufasa, reprising his iconic performance from Disney’s 1994 animated classic. Chiwetel Ejiofor (Twelve Years a Slave, Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange) was called on to portray Simba’s villainous uncle Scar, and Alfre Woodard (Juanita, Marvel’s Luke Cage) portrays Simba’s no-nonsense mother, Sarabi. JD McCrary (OWN’s Tyler Perry’s The Paynes, Apple’s Vital Signs) fills the shoes of Young Simba, a confident cub who can’t wait to be king, and Shahadi Wright Joseph (NBC’s Hairspray Live, Broadway’s The Lion King) brings tough cub Young Nala to life.
Directed by Jon Favreau (The Jungle Book), The Lion King features a voice cast that includes Donald Glover (Solo: A Star Wars Story) as Simba, Beyonce (Dreamgirls) as Nala, Billy Eichner (Billy on the Street) as Timon, Seth Rogen (Sausage Party) as Pumbaa, John Oliver (Last Week Tonight) as Zazu, Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange) as Scar, James Earl Jones (The Lion King) as Mufasa, Alfre Woodard (Luke Cage) as Sarabi, John Kani (Black Panther) as Rafiki, JD McCrary (Vital Signs) as Young Simba, Shahadi Wright Joseph (Hairspray Live) as Young Nala, Eric André (Man Seeking Woman) as Azizi, Florence Kasumba (Black Panther) as Shenzi, Keegan-Michael Key (The Predator) as Kamari and Amy Sedaris (BoJack Horseman) as a new character. It is set for release on July 19th.
