My Lion King Forum

https://www.flickeringmyth.com/2017/02/ ... ing-roles/

More specifically the hyenas. It sounds like an alright idea but who would play shenzi I'd want shenzi to be voiced by a female.

Not a WWE fan, but I've seen these three in the 'ring' and they work together pretty well as a comedic and semi-serious unit. They'd definitely work as lower-tier goofball villains (I actually think it wouldn't hurt to add another character to the main hyena group just to get all three in; heck, they have better chemistry than the current actors who play Janja, Cheezi, and Chungu) though I agree that Shenzi still needs to be played by a woman to preserve the matriarchal role amongst the hyenas.

Issa Rae (of her web series Awkward Black Girl turned HBO satirical comedy Insecure) might be a good choice; she plays 'serious' comedic roles in her shows (which are all based off of her own life) where she's usually the straight woman dealing with the antics going on around her, though she's not exactly immune to occasional slips into goofball territory herself.

Alternatively, Jessica Williams (former The Daily Show correspondent) could be cool too, though I haven't really seen her full acting chops in a more serious role. I can see her working out well if Shenzi's portrayal stays more on the lighter side, though if she's written specifically to offset the silliness of her male clan mates, they might make her more serious and level-headed, in which case I'd prefer Issa Rae.

I really hope this isn't implying that they're gonna drop Shenzi's character altogether for another male hyena, instead. That would suck. I realise their looks, especially Shenzi's, could be kinda hard to pull together in a realistic style, but I definitely wanna see all the original hyenas and their designs in the movie. Besides, if they're aiming for a more realistic look, then that means they should also aim for the animals acting more realistically, and a female leading a hyena pack is one of the most realistic animal kingdom things that the original movie has to offer.

They're just trying out for the role in a more direct way. Nothing has been said about them dropping shenzi.

Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if the female characters have bigger roles in this movie than the original.

would be cool if it were maybe 3 male hyenas and 1 female. To allow them to all be able to perform but still have shenzi.

where does the trombone fit?