On Wednesday, November 1, Disney officially announced the full cast for its 2019 live-action remake of “The Lion King.” Director Jon Favreau said in a statement that it is every director's dream to be able to have a cast of such talented people as he has for the upcoming remake of such a beloved production. He is creating the remake similar to the way he did "The Jungle Book" that was released last year and grossed nearly $1 billion around the world. Favreau wants to have a repeat with his upcoming animated film. The original production grossed more than $968 million worldwide in 1994.

This information was confirmed in a report by USA Today.

Cast members

Fans are going wild especially after finding out that Beyonce is part of the cast of the animated film. She will be the voice of the lioness, Nala, the childhood friend and love interest of Simba. Donald Glover plays the part of Simba, the future king. He will never become king if Scar, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, the villain, has anything to do with it.

Some of the other A-list Celebrities who are lending their voices to the production include Alfre Woodard portraying Simba’s mother, Sarabi. Three comedians are part of the cast. Comedian Seth Rogen will play the warthog, Pumbaa, and comedian Billy Eichner is the meerkat, Timon.

Comedian John Oliver has agreed to be Zazu, Mufasa’s loyal confidant, while Mufasa himself will be played by James Earl Jones. He was in the original 1994 film and will lend his strong voice once again as Simba’s father.

The full cast was announced on Wednesday, but some of the actors knew as far back as February that they had secured a part.

The remainder of them were brought on board in stages. Favreau let it be known last March that Beyonce was at the top of his list to play the part of Nala and the production crew would work to accommodate her busy schedule. In April and July, more members of the cast had been confirmed. All except two had come on board by August.

Beyonce and Ejiofor were the last to be confirmed on November 1.

Many of the cast, including Beyonce, posted announcements on social media letting their followers know the good news. The live series will not be released until July 19, 2019.

The songs

People who have seen any version of "The Lion King" know there is a lot of singing, and many of the original songs by Elton John and Tim Rice are expected to be included. Fans are looking forward to hearing them again. One that comes to mind is "Hakuna Matata" that Simba's two new friends taught him when he was in exile. The musical score will be provided by Hans Zimmer who did the same in the 1994 film.