The rumors were true. Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter will officially voice Simba’s friend-turned-love interest Nala in Jon Favreau’s live-action adaptation of “The Lion King.”
Rounding out the cast is Donald Glover as Simba, James Earl Jones as Mufasa and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar. John Oliver, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and John Kani also star.
The singer has been rumored to play the coveted part for a few months now, and in August, media outlets reported she was in final negotiations to voice the female lion.
“It is a director’s dream to assemble a talented team like this to bring this classic story to life,” said Favreau in a statement.
Favreau is directing and producing alongside Karen Gilchrist. Jeff Nathanson penned the screenplay based on the 1994 screenplay by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton. Tom Peitzman and Thomas Schumacher are executive producing, while John Bartnicki is co-producing.
The original “Lion King” is one of the biggest animated films of all time: It grossed $968.8 million globally and won an Academy Award for the original song, “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” as well as its original score by Hans Zimmer.
Hans Zimmer (“Dunkirk,” “Hidden Figures”) will score the feature.
“The Lion King” will hit theaters on July 19, 2019. Check out Disney’s FULL cast announcement below:
#TheLionKing. 2019. ?? pic.twitter.com/UMJo18FwDt
— Disney (@Disney) November 1, 2017
