Disney's live action remake of "The Lion King" just confirmed some major casting news. Director Jon Favreau announced on his Twitter that Donald Glover and James Earl Jones have been cast for the film.
Glover will star as Simba while Jones will return as Mufasa, the role he voiced in the 1994 original animated film, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Favreau and Glover first met at The Hollywood Reporter's conversation on creativity in December, during which Favreau told Glover that his son is a fan of the actor's music.
In the original animated film, Jonathan Taylor Thomas voiced the young Simba, while Matthew Broderick voiced the adult Simba.
Jeff Nathanson is writing the script for the live action remake of "The Lion King." According to Variety, production for "The Lion King" is being fast-tracked, even as Favreau starts development for the sequel to "The Jungle Book."
"The Lion King" is one of Disney's many planned reimagining of animated classics. "Beauty of the Beast" is set to hit cinemas this year, while "Aladdin" and "Mulan" are in the works. Disney confirmed that "The Lion King" live action adaption will feature some of the songs from the original film, which means fans might be able to sing along to "Hakuna Matata" in the upcoming feature.
"The Lion King" is one of Disney's most successful movies ever, and is considered as one of the biggest animated films of all time. When the movie came out in 1994, it earned a whopping $968 million worldwide despite running on a $45 million budget. It was also a critical darling, and earned positive reviews from fans then and now.
The film's soundtrack also earned high prestige, with Elton John and Tim Rice's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" receiving an Academy Award for original song. The film's score, which was composed by Hans Zimmer, also earned an Oscar. The soundtrack also took home two Grammy Awards.
Meanwhile, Glover is currently filming the upcoming "Han Solo" movie in which he stars as the young Lando Calrissian. The actor recently won two Golden Globes for his FX TV series "Atlanta."