Practically all of humanity already bows down to Beyoncé – and now she'll rule over the animal kingdom too as she joins the incredible cast of Disney's Lion King remake.
Disney delivered us the mother of all casting announcements late on Wednesday (November 1) by revealing 14 cast members for its updated version of the Academy Award-winning animation. Check out the announcement:
The House of Mouse had previously confirmed that Donald Glover would be joining returning favourite James Earl Jones as the loveable lion cub Simba and his regal father Mufasa. The family will be complete when Alfre Woodard brings Simba's mother Sarabi to life.
The role of Simba's mate has gone to Beyoncé. The singer's involvement with the new Lion King had first been reported months ago, but there were doubts about whether she'd sign on the dotted line with Disney during her recent pregnancy.
Also previously rumoured for the heavily-anticipated reboot were comedians Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and John Oliver, who are now confirmed to be adding to the hijinks as double act Pumbaa and Timon, and the squawking hornbill Zazu respectively.
Rounding out the comedy line-up will be Emmy nominee Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari, and the always-outrageous Eric Andre as Azizi. Other notable castings include Black Panther's John Kani as the wise mandrill Rafiki and his Marvel co-star Florence Kasumba as Shenzi.
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Let's not forget the villain. As had been rumoured, Chiwetel Ejiofor will delve back into villainy after his work in Marvel's Doctor Strange as Simba's uncle (and mortal enemy), the treacherous lion Scar.
On top of the wealth of casting news, Disney will also be bringing back Hans Zimmer to add new music to his Academy Award-winning score from 1994's original Lion King. Zimmer is a music giant who's also worked on Batman v Superman and Planet Earth II in recent years.
(Hans Zimmer)
Disney's Lion King remake will be arriving in cinemas on July 19, 2019, as part of a banner year for the studio that will also see the release of Frozen 2.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
