The Lion King (2019 film)

Development

On September 28, 2016, Walt Disney Pictures confirmed that Jon Favreau would be directing a fast-tracked remake of the 1994 animated film The Lion King, which would feature the songs from the 1994 film, following a string of recent box office successes on the other Disney remake films such as Maleficent, Cinderella, Favreau's The Jungle Book and Beauty and the Beast with the latter three also earning critical praise.^[1] Later on October 13, it was reported that Disney had hired Jeff Nathanson to write the screenplay for the remake.^[2] In November, talking with ComingSoon.net, Favreau said the virtual cinematography technology he used in The Jungle Book would be used to a greater degree in The Lion King.^[3] Although the media reported The Lion King to be a live-action film, it actually utilizes photorealistic animation. Disney also did not describe it as live-action, only stating it would follow the "technologically groundbreaking" approach of The Jungle Book.^[4]

Casting

In mid-February 2017, Donald Glover was cast as Simba, with James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa from the 1994 film.^[5]

In April, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen were cast to play Timon and Pumbaa respectively.^[6] In July, John Oliver was cast as Zazu.^[7] In August, Alfre Woodard and John Kani were announced to play Sarabi and Rafiki, respectively.^[8][9]

Earlier in March, it was announced that Beyoncé was Favreau's top choice for the role of Nala and that the director and studio would be willing to do whatever it took to accommodate her busy schedule.^[10] Later on November 1, her role was confirmed in an official announcement,^[11][12] which also confirmed that Chiwetel Ejiofor would play the role of Scar as he had impressed Favreau after watching his antagonistic performance as Baron Mordo in Doctor Strange (2016). Other stars Eric Andre, Florence Kasumba, Keegan-Michael Key will be the voices of Azizi, Shenzi and Kamari while JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph will be the voices of young Simba and young Nala, respectively.^{[13][14][15][16]}

Filming

Production on the film commenced in the summer of 2017,^[17] on a blue screen stage in Los Angeles, California.^[18]

Music

On November 1, 2017, it was announced that Hans Zimmer would return to score the film, having previously scored the 1994 animated version.^[19] On November 28, 2017, it was reported that Elton John had signed onto the project to rework his musical compositions from the original film before his retirement.^[20] The following day it was reported that Beyoncé would be assisting John in the reworking of the soundtrack.^[21] On February 9, 2018, John reported that he, Tim Rice and Beyoncé would create a new song for the end credits of the film.^[22] Later that month, it was revealed that four songs from the original film would be included in the film: "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", "Hakuna Matata", "I Just Can't Wait to Be King", and "Circle of Life".^[23]