Whenever fans discover their favorite movies are being rebooted, there is sometimes a sense of distrust. But as The Lion King live-action reboot inches closer to becoming a reality, director Jon Favreau has partially addressed those concerns with one of his latest announcements.
On Friday, Favreau tweeted that renowned voice actor James Earl Jones will be reprising his role as Mufasa in Favreau’s iteration. About 30 minutes earlier, Favreau also tweeted that Donald Glover will be starring as Simba.
Looking forward to working with this legend. #Mufasa pic.twitter.com/1LszbWrcYT
— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) February 18, 2017
I just can’t wait to be king. #Simba pic.twitter.com/wUYKixMBJI
— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) February 18, 2017
Jones is currently in the business of reprising his old roles. He recently voiced Darth Vader in the latest Star Wars movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Jones continued to voice the Sith lord from 2014 to 2016 in the animated series Star Wars Rebels. In 2015, he also voiced Mufasa in a TV movie called The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar.
Glover has been working on his show Atlanta wherein he stars, writes and produces. The former Community star is also slated to play Lando Calrissian in an upcoming, untitled standalone Star Wars film about Han Solo. He will also play an unannounced role in the Spider-Man reboot, Spider-Man: Homecoming, set to release in July.
The Lion King is just one of many of Disney’s upcoming live-action reboots. The company has already produced brought Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent and Pete’s Dragon to life. On March 17, Emma Watson stars as Belle in a Beauty and the Beast remake.
