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PRIDE ROCK — The newest trailer for Disney’s remake of “The Lion King” dropped Wednesday morning, and for those of you excited to see photorealistic animals talk like humans, you know what they say — Hakuna Matata.
(It means no worries.)
The remake of the 1994 original hits theaters July 19 and is directed by Jon Favreau, who previously directed the live-action Disney remake “The Jungle Book.”
The movie features a ridiculously star-studded cast, including Donald Glover as Simba, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar and James Earl Jones reprising his role as Mufasa. The rest of the cast includes Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Alfre Woodard, Keegan-Michael Key, Eric Andre, Beyonce, John Oliver and others.
While “The Lion King” follows Disney’s recent trend of live-action remakes, unlike “The Jungle Book,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin” (due out in May), the movie likely won’t include any human characters. So it’s up for debate on whether the CGI animal-filled movie actually counts as a “live-action” remake.
Will Disney's 'Lion King' remake rule the 2019 summer movie season?
Welcome to part two of KSL.com's summer movie preview. In this article we’re looking at what to look forward to from late June through August.Nevertheless, the imagery looks stunning and the music is gorgeous in the new trailer. The first trailer for the movie, released in November, contained several shots from the “Circle of Life” opening that look nearly identical to the animated original.
Wednesday’s trailer also includes many scenes Disney fans will recognize, including a glimpse of the well-known stampede scene. It also features the voices of Ejiofor’s Scar and Jones’s iconic Mufasa.
Will audiences find the talking animals off-putting, or will they flock to the theaters like a pack of wildebeest?
My money’s on the latter. “Beauty and the Beast” made $1.2 billion at the box office in 2017, and “The Jungle Book” made almost a billion the year before, according to Box Office Mojo.
“The Lion King” is one of Disney’s most beloved titles, and the remake is surely headed for a massively successful theatrical run.
What do you think of the new trailer? Let us know in the comments.
