Beyoncé To Play Nala On Disney's Live-Action 'Lion King': Here's The Complete List Of The Star-Studded Cast
Disney has finally confirmed the full cast of Jon Favreau's live-action remake of the 1994 animated classic, The Lion King.
While rumors have been swirling for months about Beyoncé's involvement in the upcoming film, Queen Bey has finally made it official with a social media post on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
The singer posted a photo of the film's entire star-studded cast on her Facebook account and captioned it with "#TheLionKing 2019." The "Crazy In Love" hitmaker will voice the character of Nala, Simba's (Donald Glover) childhood friend and love interest, in the upcoming film.
The Lion King isn't Favreau's first live-action remake for Disney. The filmmaker also directed the blockbuster hit Jungle Book, which grossed more than $960 million worldwide and already has a sequel in the works.
"It is a director's dream to assemble a talented team like this to bring this classic story to life," Favreau said in a statement on Wednesday, Nov. 1.
James Earl Jones reprises his role as Simba's father, Mufasa. The remaining cast members include Chiwetel Ejiofor, who voices Mufasa's evil brother, Scar. Alfre Woodard plays Simba's mother, Sarabi; John Oliver lends his voice for the hornbill Zazu; and John Kani for the wise baboon Rafiki. Disney has also cast Florence Kasumba, Eric André, and Keegan-Michael Key to play the trio of menacing hyenas Shenzi, Azizi, and Kamari.
Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen will be voicing the fan-favorite meerkat and warthog duo Timon and Pumba in the upcoming live-action adaption. In addition, child actors JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph will voice young Simba and Nala respectively.
The film, which Disney announced in September last year, will include all the songs from the original movie and use motion-capture technology combined with computer-generated graphics to bring its characters to life, much like Favreau's version of The Jungle Book.
The 1994 original, directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, picked up two Academy Awards and remained the highest grossing animated film for 16 years until Toy Story 3 came along in 2010. The film got a re-release in 3D in 2011 and raked in $30.2 million at the box office.
Favreau's The Lion King joins a long list of live-action adaptation films that Disney has on its roster including Mulan, The Little Mermaid, Dumbo, and Aladdin.
The Lion King remake is slated to hit theaters on July 19, 2019.
