The Lion King Revival update: Donald Glover is cast as Simba, James Earl Jones is Mufasa

The talented writer/director/actor Jon Favreau announced on Friday, 17 February 2017 that Donald Glover will play Simba and James Earl Jones will play Mufasa in Favreau’s upcoming live-action version of The Lion King. Favreau made the announcements on his Twitter feed.

I just can’t wait to be king. #Simba pic.twitter.com/wUYKixMBJI

— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) February 18, 2017

Details about the live-action Lion King are extremely sparse; Favreau will reportedly film it back-to-back with his second Jungle Book film, but there’s no release date on the books.

Looking forward to working with this legend. #Mufasa pic.twitter.com/1LszbWrcYT

— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) February 18, 2017

Favreau’s remake of The Jungle Book in 2016 was a huge hit, earning $965.8 million worldwide . His success with The Jungle Book was likely what led him to the new Lion King project_._

“Like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King will include songs from the animated film,” Disney said when the announcement to remake The Lion King was made.

Adding the renowned director to The Lion King seems like a formula guaranteed for success. The Lion King is one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time. The original animated film The Lion King, released in 1994, grossed more than $968 million at the box office and won Academy Awards for the original song ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight?’ (Elton John, Tim Rice) and original score (Hans Zimmer), plus two Grammy Awards, with the soundtrack selling over 14 million copies.