The year 2019 will be a year of revisiting childhood, as our beloved animated calssics are returning to the big screen.
Last October, Disney dropped the first-ever trailer for the live-action reimagining of the 1992 animated film Aladdin. Directed by Guy Ritchie, the 2019 musical fantasy film will feature Mena Massoud as the title character. It will also feature Will Smith as Genie and Naomi Scott will take on the role of Princess Jasmine.
Now another trailer has been released from the House of Mouse, and this time, it’s for the most anticipated adaptation there is—The Lion King.
‘The Lion King’ (1994) and Its Legacy
The 1994 film The Lion King was nothing short of historic. It featured an ensemble cast, which included James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg, Jim Cummings, and Matthew Broderick. The film also received praises for its music, direction, and story.
The animated film went on to become one of Disney’s most critically and commercially successful releases. It was 1994’s highest-grossing film and was once the second-highest-grossing film of all time (it’s currently the 39th). The movie also received several accolades including the Academy Award for Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer) and Best Original Song (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight by Sir Elton John).
Twenty-five years later, The Lion King will invade cinemas once again—but this time, as a CGI remake.
Disney Drops First ‘The Lion King’ Teaser Trailer
It was two years ago when Disney first shared their plans to have The Lion King remade. In September 2016, Disney announced that Jon Favreau would be helming the film, a decision that came after the critical and commercial success of the Favreau-directed 2016 remake of The Jungle Book.
More than a year later, Disney finally dropped the first trailer of the highly anticipated adaptation.
“Everything the light touches is our kingdom,” Mufasa starts narrating fifteen seconds into the teaser trailer. “But a king’s time as ruler rises and falls like the sun. One day, the sun will set on my time here . . . and will rise with you as the new king.”
The video then shares a closer look at life on the Pride Lands and a glimpse of the Pride Rock. It also features the iconic yet horrifying wildebeest stampede scene and later shows Simba as a cub.
Featuring the voice of Donald Glover as adult Simba, The Lion King will also see James Earl Jones returning to reprise his role as Mufasa. The film also stars Beyoncé Carter-Knowles as the voice of Nala, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar.
As soon as the trailer was dropped, The Lion King started trending across all social media platforms. Although this remake means seeing Mufasa die again—only this time on IMAX and in high definition—fans can’t wait to watch Simba’s story unfold before their eyes as if they haven’t already heard his story more than two decades ago.
While it’s true that the teaser trailer cannot tell us much yet (aside from the fact that James Earl Jones’s voice is enough to take us back to 1994), we can all expect that there will be more to come as the release date nears.
The Lion King will hit theaters on July 19, 2019.