Disney and director Jon Favreau are teaming up yet again. With the success of The Jungle Book behind them, they are giving another beloved Disney flick the live-action treatment: The Lion King.
The project is in the works and it has even been fast-tracked, reports The Hollywood Reporter. With Favreau at the helm, the film will reimagine the classic animated film using a combination of live-action and CGI. The director has proven to be skilled at blending the two numerous times in the past. In addition to The Jungle Book, his resume includes the Marvel films Iron Man and its sequel.
The Lion King might be getting a new look, but there are aspects of the original that will not be lost. Disney revealed that songs from the original will be included in the upcoming version, so we will hopefully still be able to sing along to the ever-catchy Hakuna Makata. Meanwhile, the African savanna’s animals will be made more realistic with the help of a green-screen set and the latest technology.
“The Lion King builds on Disney’s success of reimagining its classics for a contemporary audience with films like Maleficent, Cinderella and The Jungle Book,” the company wrote on its website.
Disney has been on a live-action reboot kick lately and only seems to be getting more excited about such projects. Malificent was released in 2014 and then roughly two years passed before The Jungle Book opened in April of this year. The wait is not quite so long this time, with Beauty and the Beast hitting theaters on March 17, 2017. A timeline for the release of The Lion King has not yet been announced, other than Disney announcing that the film has been fast-tracked to production.
It is not surprising that the studio has opted to revamp The Lion King. Released in 1994, the film was a huge box office success for Disney. It brought in more than $964.48 million worldwide and still ranks third among the highest-grossing animated films at the domestic box office, according to Box Office Mojo data.