Beyonce, James Earl Jones, Donald Glover and 11 other stars have been confirmed to be part of Walt Disney Studios's upcoming remake of "The Lion King."
The official Twitter account for the company made the announcement Wednesday night. The film will be directed by Jon Favreau, who directed the successful remake of “The Jungle Book.”
"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, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
As previously reported, Donald Glover will portray Simba, and Beyonce -- billed as Beyonce Knowles-Carter -- will voice Nala, Simba’s childhood friend and love interest.
Related: Report: Beyonce in talks to star in 'The Lion King' remake as Nala
The singer and mother of three confirmed the news on her Facebook page.
James Earl Jones is the only actor from the original 1994 version reprising his role. Jones will voice Mufasa, Simba’s father and the king who is killed by his brother Scar -- who will be portrayed by Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Related: James Earl Jones, Donald Glover starring in Disney’s live-action ‘The Lion King’
Alfre Woodard will voice Sarabi, Mufasa’s wife and Simba’s mother. Rafiki, originally voiced by the late Robert Guillaume, will now be portrayed by John Kani. Billy Eichner will play Timon, who is best friends with Pumbaa, whom Seth Rogen will portray. John Oliver will voice Zazu.
Hyenas Ed and Banzai are now Azizi and Kamari, played by Eric Andre and Keegan-Michael Key, respectively. The third hyena, Shenzi, originally voiced by Whoopi Goldberg, will be portrayed by Florence Kasumba.
Young Simba and young Nala will be played by JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph, respectively.
Related: James Earl Jones, Donald Glover starring in Disney’s live-action ‘The Lion King’
“The Lion King” was initially reported as a live-action film, but it’s more likely going to be a CGI remake of the 2-D animated version.
The remake of “The Lion King” is set for a summer 2019 release.
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