Beyoncé, Chiwetel Ejiofor Lead Cast of Live-Action The Lion King Remake

Disney has set the all-star cast of Jon Favreau’s live-action The Lion King, a jaw-dropping assemblage of talent that includes none other than Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar and Alfre Woodard as Simba’s mother Sarabi, as well as Eric André and Keegan-Michael Key as hyenas Azizi and Kamari, respectively.

The Lion King is the latest in a string of what have proved to be lucrative retro projects for Disney, including 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, 2014’s Maleficent, 2015’s Cinderella, 2016’s The Jungle Book and this year’s Beauty and the Beast. Favreau will bring the same CGI/live-action style to Lion King that he used for The Jungle Book. His take on the 1994 animated classic will be Beyoncé’s first feature film role since 2013’s animated Epic. Word got out this spring that the superstar was Disney and Favreau’s first choice for the role of Nala.

As previously announced, Donald Glover will play lion king-in-waiting Simba and James Earl Jones will reprise his role as Simba’s ill-fated father Mufasa. The film will also feature John Oliver as Zazu, and Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner as Pumbaa and Timon, respectively.

JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph will voice young Simba and Nala, while John Kani’s Rafiki and Florence Kasumba’s Shenzi round out The Lion King’s core voice cast.

See Disney’s full reveal below. The Lion King opens in U.S. theaters on July 19, 2019.

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— Disney (@Disney) November 1, 2017