Disney Announces Star Studded 'Lion King' Cast

(KBCWtv) - On Wednesday, Walt Disney Studios announced the full cast of it's highly anticipated CGI live-action remake of The Lion King.

Reports have been confirmed to have Beyoncé cast in the role of Nala, Simba's mate and childhood friend. Simba is played by Childish Gambino himself, Donald Glover.

Beyoncé (credit: Getty Images)

Reprising his role as Simba's father Mufasa, James Earl Jones returns to familiar territory. Other actors include Chiwetel Ejiofor as Simba's uncle and main villain, Scar. Simba's mother Sarabi will be played by Alfre Woodard. Simba's pals Pumbaa and Timon will be played by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen.

Here is the rest of the cast of the Jon Favreau helmed remake:

In a released statement, Favreau said "It is a director's dream to assemble a talented team like this to bring this classic story to life," Favreau's experience with rebooting Disney's The Jungle Book made him a natural fit to reboot The Lion King.

The original Lion King's music featured songs from award-winning composers Sir Elton John and Tim Rice. The 1994 film itself garnered an Academy Award for Best Original Score and a Best Original Song for John and Rice's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight."

The Lion King remake is scheduled to release in theaters July 19, 2019.

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