Skip to main content

Disney’s live-action version of ‘The Lion King’ adds Beyonce to its big-name cast

Part of the circle of life is seeing your favorite childhood movies remade as an adult. Disney has been hard at work on live-action adaptations of its animated classics in recent years, and The Lion King is one of the most anticipated on the studio’s list. That is especially true after big casting news was unveiled on Wednesday, November 1: None other than Beyonce Knowles-Carter was revealed to be one of the film’s stars.

The Grammy winner will voice Nala, Simba’s best friend and eventual queen. As previously announced, Simba, the titular lion king, is set to be portrayed by Donald Glover. Like Beyonce, Glover doubles as a musician; he has put out multiple rap albums under the stage name Childish Gambino.

Recommended Videos

Because the story told in The Lion King spans numerous years, Beyonce and Glover won’t be the only actors to play Nala and Simba. The lions’ younger selves will be played by J.D. McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph, respectively. Hard as it is for us older fans to believe, the two actors weren’t even born when the original animated film came out.

The rest of The Lion King‘s cast is impressive as well. James Earl Jones will once again voice Simba’s father, Mufasa, as he did in the animated film, while Alfre Woodard will portray the young lion’s mom. Simba’s malevolent uncle Scar will be voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen are on board as Timon and Pumbaa, respectively. The cast also includes comedians John Oliver and Keegan-Michael Key, among others.

#TheLionKing. 2019. 🦁👑 pic.twitter.com/UMJo18FwDt

— Disney (@Disney) November 1, 2017

All in all, the final list is great. The casting of Beyonce, in particular, should get fans excited. As one of the best-selling artists of all time, she is bound to make excellent contributions to the movie’s soundtrack. She is also likely to be a big box office draw given the enthusiasm of her die-hard fans, the Beyhive.

The Lion King is an adaptation of the 1994 movie that remains one of the highest-grossing animated films ever. Its voice cast included Jones, Matthew Broderick, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Moira Kelly, Niketa Calame, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, and more.

In honor of the film’s 25th anniversary, The Lion King will open in summer 2019.

Stephanie Topacio Long
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Stephanie Topacio Long is a writer and editor whose writing interests range from business to books. She also contributes to…
Murderbot: Chris & Paul Weitz on how to successfully craft book-to-movie adaptations
Alexander Skarsgard looks to hs left and stares.

Academy Award nominees Chris and Paul Weitz know the key to a successful book-to-movie adaptation is collaboration. Can everyone involved get on the same page? If one person falls out of line, Chris says it can lead to problems. Luckily for the Weitz brothers, the creative team all shared the same vision on Murderbot, a new sci-fi comedy on Apple TV+.

Based on Martha Wells' book series, Murderbot stars Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) as the titular robot, a security cyborg programmed to protect and obey humans. Murderbot, who believes humans are "idiots," hacks its security construct to give it free will. Now, Murderbot can do what it wants, which involves watching countless hours of the space opera Sanctuary Moon. While on assignment, Murderbot must hide its free will from the humans. If discovered, Murderbot will have to do the one thing it hates: converse with others.

Read more
Sean Penn thinks Jennifer Lawrence is ‘probably the last movie star’
Jennifer Lawrence in No Hard Feelings.

Actor and director Sean Penn knows something about what it means to be a movie star, and he thinks Hollywood is done making them. During a recent interview on the The Louis Theroux Podcast, Penn offered his opinion on an array of different celebrities.

“I think the movie star manufacturer ran out around Jennifer Lawrence time or something,” Penn said. “She’s probably the last movie star.”

Read more
Gene Hackman was apparently furious about his salary for The Royal Tenenbaums
Gene Hackman sits at a table in The Royal Tenenbaums.

Gene Hackman's death has led many to look back on his remarkable career and at many of his best performances. Among those great performances is his work as Royal Tenenbaum in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, but now, the director is offering new details about how how reluctant Hackman was to sign on to the project.

"Gene was very annoyed about the money," Anderson said in a new interview with The Times, explaining that Hackman was reluctant to take a flat fee for the film. "He was furious. Also, he didn't want to do the film anyway. I talked him into it — I just didn't go away."

Read more