OOOK! This has been released for a while now! But still, wow! Look at this beautiful cast for a beautiful movie we all grew up with. Being a die-hard "Lion King" fan and having the motto Hakuna Matata guide my life, I was a little uneasy about how the live-action would turn out but holy crap, does this look good! And can we please take a second to appreciate the amount of black in this black and white photo. They chose a very influential, powerful, and strong makeup of black actors and actresses.The white people they chose are also excellent and are very socially active in today's society and bring a nice humor to the cast.
Overall I'm excited and every time I see this cast I get happier.
The Main Cast
Donald Glover (Childish Gambino) as Simba
Being an actor, producer, director, writer, comedian, rapper, singer, and songwriter, Donald Glover has done a lot. He gained a massive amount of popularity with his role on "Community" as Troy and he gained a massive amount of popularity as the rapper, Childish Gambino. It's a bittersweet time for fans of Gambino because he announced early this year at GovBall that he would be making one more album and Gambino will come to an end. JD McCrary (Young Simba) actually featured in Gambino's song "Terrified "and he has some really nice vocals. Glover is ready to move on to another chapter of his life, mainly oriented around the film industry. Besides "Community," Glover has been in "The Martian," "30 Rock," "Regular Show," and after many a big "Donald Glover for Spider-Man," movement, he landed the role for Miles Morales, Black Spiderman, in the animated series and Aaron Davis "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Along with this, he directed, produced and starred as the protagonist in his own comedic but socially "woke" series, "Atlanta." As a fan of Donald, Gambino, and the Lion King, its great to see him grow even more and take on the role of the older Simba.
Beyonce as Nala
I just noticed I wrote a lot for Gambino, so I promise I won't write essays for everyone else. But y'all should already know Beyonce, the Queen Bee. Beyonce is a very influential artist making an amazing album, "Lemonade," last year and releasing a new song with Eminem recently. She will be playing Nala, Simba's childhood friend and later on, they become more than just friends. ;). Also, who's ready for those vocals on the soundtrack!???
James Earl Jones
When it comes to the voice of Mufasa, nobody but Jones could do it justice. After 23 years, James is coming back to play the role of Mufasa in the first "Lion King" once again. You may also know Jones as the voice of Darth Vader, the narrator for "Scary Movie", and many other things. It's great to have him back and I think the chemistry between him and Donald will be great.
Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar
Gaining popularity after his performaces as Solomon Northup in "12 Years a Slave," Chiwetel as since then been in movies like Doctor Strange and the Martian. Although he has a kind soul, his deep voice can be very sinister and I think he'll make a great antagonist.
Alfre Woodard as Sarabi
Also from Twelve Years of Slave, Woodard will be appearing in the live-action as Sarabi, Simba's mother. Woodard has been in "State of Affairs," "Luke Cage" (which she did amazing in), and many other movies and series. Her motherly and caring voice will definitely make her great for the role.
John Oliver as Zazu
John... John... John... Ya' gotta love Mr.Oliver and he will definitely make the perfect Zazu, the clumsy bird assigned to care for Simba. Mainly known for his show, "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver," John is known well for his political commentary along with his comedic jokes. No doubt he'll make a perfect Zazu.
John Kani as Rafiki
Besides playing King T'Chaka in "Captain America: Civil War" and the upcoming "Black Panther," Kani is more well known in South Africa, where he is a more recognized actor. Nonetheless, he will be playing the great role of Rafiki, the wise Baboon, who raises Simba at the edge of the cliff and marks him during "The Circle of Life." He's probably as excited as I am!
Seth Rogan as Pumbaa
Seth...Seth...Seth... Perfection. Another amazing choice that'll definitely add some more comedy to the movie. Although he doesn't have his James Franco as Timon, I think he'll still do a phenomenal job. Seth is very well known as an actor, but he's had his fair share of voice-overs too. Some of these include voicing Mantis in the Kung-Fu Panda series, as well as Frank in "Sausage Party."
Billy Eichner as Timon
Known mainly for his pop culture game show "Billy on the Street", Eichner is an energetic fast-paced comic and host. Good news! Billy and Seth have worked together before, when Seth made an appearance on Billy's show. So they do have chemistry which is great! I think Billy's energy will definitely show through in Timon
Hyenas
Now, although we don't see them throughout the whole adventure and story, there is still an extremely funny trio, we are missing... the hyenas. The hyenas will be played by none other than Eric Andre, Florence Kasumba, and Keegan-Michael Key. I'm so ready for this trio already. Eric and Key alone would make me die of laughter for days, but the addition of Florence will add something new and was overall a good role.
Overall, I'm super-duper hype. SHOUTOUT to the Casting Director for finessing this so well. I'm totally excited! If you haven't seen my article on the live action cast of "Aladdin", it's worth the watching! Are you as excited?
