"Nants ingonyama bagithi baba!" means here comes a lion. Well, two lions at that. On Friday night, director Jon Favreau - a longtime Disney associate whose helmed Iron Man movies and 2016 Oscar-nominated live-action Jungle Book for the studio-discovered via Twitter that his next big film for the House of Mouse has organized its leading men.
Live-Action Adaptation Will Have Photorealistic Effects
Favreau's upcoming live-action adaptation of "The Lion King", first announced in September, will star Donald Glover as Simba - the adult version of the character voiced in the original film by Matthew Broderick - and James Earl Jones, who will once again play the wise lion ruler Mufasa. Disney officially set the casting in a press release Friday night, adding to the film, "Disney and Favreau will build on the innovative technology used in The Jungle Book to bring the story of Simba to photorealistic life."
This statement should come as no surprise to anybody who's been waiting to see it in Hollywood. Glover, still at his best figure, an actor Golden Globe win for his FX comedy Atlanta, has recently appeared as one of the industry's most in-demand young actors, specifically for blockbuster franchises; he's set to appear in this summer's blockbuster Spider-Man: Homecoming, and he's presently filming Phil Lord and Chris Miller's most awaited, still-untitled Star Wars anthology film about Han Solo.
James Earl Jones Taking Part Of Mufasa, Simba's Wise Father
As for Jones? He's a living legend with an unmistakable, incomparable voice; if the 86-year-old actor is available to repeat his role, it would simply feel awkward to see somebody taking on the part of Simba's wise father.
The Lion King does not have a release date yet, but it does have a place on an progressively crowded Disney slate of live-action adaptations; in addition to another rehearsal of the studio's 1994 animated hit, it's also planning live-action takes on a throng of films including Mulan, The Little Mermaid, Dumbo, and Snow White; among others. Its live-action Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, hits cinema in March.
