Following the release of Dumbo, Disney is preparing the release of two more high-profile ‘live-action’ adaptations of their animated classics. Next is Guy Ritchie’s Aladdin, followed by another ‘90s all-timer: The Lion King. Jon Favreau is directing this one, having worked his magic on The Jungle Book, and the approach here looks similar. There are plenty of visual nods and references to the beloved original, but it has a slightly grittier feel and some genuinely astonishing photo-real CGI at play.
You surely know the story here – when Mufasa (a returning James Earl Jones), king of Pride Rock, is killed at the paws of his brother Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor), young cub Simba, voiced by JD McCrary as a cub and Donald Glover as a grown lion, flees from the kingdom. In his adolescent years, he befriends meerkat / warthog buddies Timon and Pumbaa (Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen), falls in love with Nala (Beyoncé), and returns to reclaim his big ol’ rock-throne-thing. It’s the circle of life, you know.
This trailer gives our first real look at Scar, Timon, Pumbaa, and those nightmare-inducing hyenas, in a film sure to draw huge crowds across the entire (united) kingdom. The Lion King will reign in UK cinemas on 19 July.