Jon Favreau’s remake of The Lion King may have found its villain in Chiwetel Ejiofor, rumoured to be providing voice duties for the character of Scar.
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that the Oscar nominee was in talks for the role of Scar, the iconic antagonist that was originally voiced by Jeremy Irons in Disney’s 1994 classic.
The remake is the latest in Disney’s effort to re-imagine their oeuvre of classics as live-action features for a new generation.
How traditionally ‘live-action’ this reiteration will be is uncertain, as it would likely rely heavily on CGI, like Disney’s previous remake, The Jungle Book (2016 – also directed by Favreau, see our review here).
Also rumoured to be joining the cast is the queen herself, Beyonce.
Variety learned she was Favreau’s top choice to play Nala.
Should Beyonce and Ejiofor sign on, they would be joining an already incredible cast.
In the supporting roles Favreau has Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, and John Oliver, to play Pumbaa, Timon, and Zazu, respectively.
Meanwhile, James Earl Jones reprises his role as Mufasa; surely a great relief to the rest of the acting community, as no one could ever hope to top his iconic performance.
And finally, Donald Glover will be taking on the lead role previously played by Matthew Broderick (the first and last time that sentence will be uttered for the rest of eternity).
Much like the rest of the cast, Glover is the perfect choice for Simba.
Should Chiwetel join the cast, this would surely be the best cast film of the year.
And if Beyonce were to join, the praise that could be heaped on Favreau’s casting choices would basically be endless.
The Lion King will be released in July of 2019.
What do people think of Disney’s live-action remake plans, let us know in the comments below.
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