The Cast of "The Lion King" Remake So Far

From Seventeen

The Lion King is one of the most cherished Disney animated classics in existence, so it goes without saying that everyone is super invested in the live action remake slated to hit theaters in 2019.

Even though there are critics who say Disney shouldn't try to fix something that's not broken, even they'll have to admit that the cast of the movie so far is panning out to be pretty awesome!

The Official Cast (So Far)

Simba

Lion's Kings's new director, Jon Favreau, announced in February that actor/rapper Donald Glover will be voicing the role of Simba.

Whether you're most familiar with Donald for his music (as Childish Gambino) or for his acting in shows like Community and Atlanta, you know that he definitely has the skills and the charisma to bring Simba to life on screen!

Timon

Who else is better to capture Timon's disdainful, aggressive, but ultimately lovable attitude than actor, comedian and host of Billy on the Street, Billy Eichner? NOBODY.

Just watch this video of Billy dragging Jacob Tremblay around NYC to tell people how awesome he is and try to tell me he's not the perfect human embodiment of a sarcastic meerkat?

Pumba

Seth Rogen has already made a name for himself playing endearingly dopey characters in movies like Knocked Up and Neighbors, so it seems like a no brainer that he's been tapped to voice the cutest goofy warthog ever.

Mufasa

Was there any option? Obviously, nobody could do a better job at capturing Mufasa's wise spirit than the man who voiced him in the original 1994 animated classic himself, James Earl Jones.

He was one of the first actors announced to be taking part in the remake when John Favreau announced his casting on Twitter.

Makes sense. James' deep and booming voice was so amazing in the original, it must have been a foregone conclusion he would be back for the remake.

Sarabi

Alfre Woodard is an industry vet. She's starred in MAJOR classic movie hits like Primal Fear and Dinosaur. She even got nominated for an Oscar for her role in Cross Creek. She's got a super calm, collected, and wise air about her, so she's going to be PERFECT to play the flawless queen of Pride Rock.

Zazu

According to Entertainment Weekly, Disney has tapped Last Week Tonight host John Oliver to voice Zazu, Mufasa's trusty hornbill sidekick. John's posh, British accent - which has become synonymous with delivering tons of knowledge about crazy world politics in the most comedic way possible - is perfect to capture Zazu's high strung personality and will fit right in with James Earl Jones.

Rafiki

You might recognize John Kani as the actor who played Black Panther's father, King T'Chaka, in Captain America: Civil War. But before that, Kani was already a successful South African actor, director and playwright. I have a feeling he's going to make an amazing Rafiki!

Casting Rumors

Scar

The casting crew behind this remake knows what's up when it comes to picking Lion King's classic villain.

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that 12 Years a Slave star Chiwetel Ejiofor is being considered to play Scar.

Chiwetel is from London, England and he's been nominated for an Oscar, so he'll have no problem capturing Scar's sinister, English vibe Jeremy Irons originated in the 1994 film while making the role his own. That is IF the rumors are true!

Nala

Rumors started swirling in March that Beyonce was in the running to play Simba's childhood friend and future love, Nala, when Variety reported she was John Favreau's top choice for the role. It's obvious why she's the frontrunner. I mean, Beyonce's voice is legendary. She would have been perfect and the writers would have definitely had to create a couple songs for Nala to sing to utilize Beyonce's one-of-a-kind pipes.

But since Beyonce is pregnant with twins at the moment, she's reportedly reluctant to sign on to the project. In the meantime, speculation is growing Beyonce's biggest fan, Zendaya, could be in the running for the role now.

It all started when Zendaya posted this Instagram holding her puppy Noon up - Pride-Rock style - while hiking with the caption, "Noony King."

The Lion King reference was not lost on fans.

Two weeks later, Zendaya clued fans into the fact that she was meeting with big wigs over at Disney through this super cute Instagram:

No one knows what the meeting was about, but it's definitely not a a stretch to think she could be in talks to play Nala in the remake!

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