It's official, there's gonna be a tlk remake.

[Squeely]

Solid choices for Sarabi and Rafiki! Cast is looking great thus far.

[Panpardus]

Not news, but I just realized that Tichina Arnold - you might know her as the mother from Everybody Hates Chris, among many other shows and films since the '80s; she was actually one of the child extras in Little Shop of Horrors - would be a great choice for Shenzi if they're looking for a contemporary actor with a Whoopi-esque vibe if they're not going to bring Whoopi herself back.

[Panpardus]

[Captain Cupcake]

https://screenrant.com/disney-lion-king ... -composer/

[quote]Disney’s live-action remake of The Lion King is bringing back another familiar component for fans of the animated classic, with Hans Zimmer set to compose the score. The Mouse House has kicked off a trend of combing through their animated library of classics and giving them the live-action adaptation that is now possible with advances in technology. Jon Favreau broke ground with the nearly complete CGI remake of The Jungle Book, and the $1 billion hit gave Disney every reason to feel comfortable handing the Iron Man director the reigns for the remake of one of their most beloved films.

Lion King isn’t set to hit theaters until the summer of 2019, but this year has been filled with reports of the cast expanding. The entire Lion King cast has now been confirmed, and more official word on the remake is starting to surface. Not only did Disney bring back James Earl Jones to voice Mufasa, but they’re also bringing back Hans Zimmer and his memorable score.
Disney confirmed the Oscar-winning composer will be back in an official press release. Zimmer is responsible for several iconic and easy to pick out scores, so it is no surprise he is coming back for the live-action tale. Considering how well-known his original themes – like ‘This Land,’ ‘…To Die For,’ ‘Under the Stars,’ and ‘King of Pride Rock’ – are, it will be expected that they are featured again, along with presumably a few other new themes.

Zimmer’s score is one piece to The Lion King‘s renowned soundtrack, and rumor has it Beyoncé will do the soundtrack this time around. The combination of Beyoncé and Zimmer would be a formidable pairing and would all but guarantee The Lion King will sound incredible, along with having stunning visuals. Both parties should have creative freedom to add new moments for the live-action take, but the D23 footage also guarantees Favreau is looking to stick close to the original material when possible.

All around, Disney has assembled an all-star team to bring The Lion King to life on the big screen in a brand new way. Favreau is one of the top directors working, and he’s got a cast list that could rival any film out there. The addition of Zimmer is just another reason to get excited for Disney’s upcoming remake. The pieces are in place for a truly great film (that could rival the original), now it’s just up to Favreau and company to deliver on these lofty expectations.[/quote]

[Panpardus]

Oh, this is good news. I wonder if they'll bring back Lebo M., too, or maybe someone else to fill that role.

*crosses fingers for someone like Hugh Masekela*

[Gaze]

really interesting that Banzai and Ed were renamed! I wanna hear more about why that choice was made. particularly for Banzai. no complaints though....I'm actually glad Ed gets a name that fits in better with the universe of the film. and it's hilarious that Eric Andre is playing him....definitely the highlight of the cast for me

also good news about the return of Hans Zimmer. I feel it's necessary that some of the themes from the original film be reused because they're just so iconic and it wouldn't be TLK without em. so it'll be cool to see how those might be combined with completely new compositions. but yeah I'll be really, really disappointed if Lebo M isn't involved in this project at all....

I'm at the edge of my seat waiting for a look at what the visuals of this film are gonna be like. things are looking good as far as voices & music go, but I can't help feeling like the visuals will disappoint in some way. I'm curious how they're going to make unique designs for each lion character while maintaining a lifelike look, and worried that the 'acting' of the animated animals might be really bland compared to the expressions and movement of the original traditionally animated characters. time shall tell ......

[PridelandsPhantom]

I'm not going to bother seeing this as Beyonce has been cast as Nala, she's ruined the film

[Panpardus]

I'm sure I've mentioned before that I'm rather far from being even a casual member of the Beyhive, but since I'm seeing this sentiment from a lot of people online who didn't even know of the remake and are already declaring the downfall of Disney solely on the premise of her involvement, may I ask: how has Beyoncé "ruined the film" when we haven't seen or heard anything of it yet?

Sure, she's not on my top five (or even ten) list to play Nala - though she was Favreau's first choice; her involvement seems to be mostly his doing, which I'm not sure a lot of folks realize - and she's not the strongest actor on the cast roster, but I don't think she'll do anything less than a passable job as far as voice-acting is concerned, and I'm sure she'd kill "Shadowland" (in the good way) if they gave it to her. So why the fuss?

[Elton John]

plus

(unpopular opinion time)

it’s not like moira kelly was that great of an actress in the original. probably the weakest link in the cast. at least beyonce can sing unlike moira.

[PridelandsPhantom]

My opinion is based on the fact that when they get HUGE celebrities on films it often becomes about that celebrity to the point of being silly. I really don't like Beyonce's singing much because she's more of a screecher. She was good in Destiny's Child, but after she went solo she became so self-absorbed it's not even funny. I expect Nala to have both strong and gentle qualities and Moira had that where Beyonce is pretty much in your face all the time and Nala's character is more likely to come off as pushy rather than the good balance she was in the original, my opinion.