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Disney pounces on 2019 release date for 'The Lion King'

By "live-action" we really mean "hyper-realistic CG animation."

Angie Han

on April 25, 2017

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Disney just can't wait to be king of the box office again.

The studio has announced a July 19, 2019 release date for their upcoming remake of The Lion King, to be directed by Jon Favreau.

Favreau announced the big news on social media:

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🦁👑! pic.twitter.com/A8razyqtK8
— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) April 25, 2017

Donald Glover is already set for the lead role of Simba. James Earl Jones, who voiced Mufasa in the 1994 animated original, will reprise the role for the remake.

The new Lion King will be "live-action" in the same way that Favreau's The Jungle Book remake was "live-action" – which is to say it'll be CG animation so hyper-realistic that it looks like live-action.

Disney's found a ton of success lately in remakes of their animated classics, with Beauty and the Beast crossing $1 billion at the box office in recent weeks. Their other upcoming remakes include Mulan and Dumbo.

Angie Han

Angie Han is the Deputy Entertainment Editor at Mashable. Previously, she was the managing editor of Slashfilm.com. She writes about all things pop culture, but mostly movies, which is too bad since she has terrible taste in movies.