Donald Glover and James Earl Jones have been cast in Disney's live-action remake of "The Lion King."
Jones is reprising his part from the original film
Glover has been cast as the protagonist Simba, a young lion who goes into exile after the death of his father at the hands of his villainous uncle, likely inspired by Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” The character was played by Matthew Broderick and Jonathan Taylor Thomas alternating as the character's young and adult forms in the 1994 animated classic. It is unknown if Glover will voice Simba alone in the upcoming film at this time.
The character’s singing voice as an adult was also provided by a third actor in the original film, musician Joseph Williams, although it is unknown if the upcoming film will be a musical at this time.
Jones will reprise the role of Mufasa, Simba’s father, who appears to him even after his death, after having played the character in the original film. He had also played the character in the film’s direct-to-video sequel, "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride."
Jon Favreau will serve as director on the upcoming project, and is the one who announced the casting of Jones and Glover.
It might technically still be an animated film
Although Disney has already become known for the company's live-action remakes of such animated films, like "Cinderella" and "Beauty and the Beast," the film is likely directly inspired by the success of last year's live-action remake of "The Jungle Book." Favreau also served as a director on that picture, which is likely why he was chosen to work on “The Lion King” remake, and is also set to direct a sequel to the former film.
While officially listed as a live-action film, the remake is expected to be produced creating computer-generated animation to create the film, due to the nature of focusing on talking animals. With the likely use of a green screen, “The Lion King” is expected to use similar techniques as “The Jungle Book."
There has been some controversy among animation advocates over the upcoming project being labeled live-action when the characters are expected to be created using animation, and is unlikely to feature any live-action actors.
There had also been similar controversy over “The Jungle Book” being given the same label, despite at least featuring a live-action actor in the role of Mowgli.
That said, as of yet, how the film will be created remains unconfirmed, though it is slated for a September release.
