Jon Favreau's live-action remake of The Lion King just added two great actors to its cast. Making the announcement on social media, the director of Iron Man let the world know the Atlanta creator will provide the voice of the adult Simba, while the legendary Jones will reprise his role as Mufasa. (No word on how Matthew Broderick, who voiced adult Simba in the original, feels about this.)
Favreau will apply the effects-heavy techniques he used on 2016's live-action remake of The Jungle Book for this effort. The Jungle Book was one of the biggest films on the planet last year, taking in nearly $1 billion worldwide, and seems likely to win the Oscar for Best Visual Effects. This is just the latest in Disney's series of updates to their animated classics. Next up is Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens as the titular characters.
While no release date has yet been announced for The Lion King, I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up in 2019, just in time for the film's 25th anniversary. (And yes, just typing that made me feel old.)
About Kip Mooney
Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about.
I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague.
Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work.
In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo.
I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.
