The Lion King

Walt Disney Studios announce new live action film of The Lion King directed by Jon Favreau

New live action film of The Lion King in the works.

Dom O'Hanlon
Dom O'Hanlon

The Walt Disney Studios have today announced that they are officially working alongside director Jon Favreau to create a new 're-imagining' of of The Lion King which is now on the fast track to production.

The projects comes off the back of their previous collaboration on The Jungle Book, directed by Favreau, which debuted in April and has earned $965.8 million worldwide.

In officially announing the project, Walt Disney Studios said "The Lion King builds on Disney's success of reimagining its classics for a contemporary audience with films like Maleficent, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book. The upcoming Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson as Belle, is already one of the most anticipated movies of 2017." It is expected that like Beauty and the Beast, this new version of The Lion King will include songs from the animated film, which included the hit songs "Hakuna Matata", "The Circle of Life" and the Academy Award-winning original song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".

The animated film of The Lion King (1994) is one of the studio's most successful film, gaining a lifetime global box office gross of $968.8 million. It won Academy Awards for the original song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Elton John, Tim Rice) and original score (Hans Zimmer), plus two Grammy Awards, with the soundtrack selling over 14 million copies.

In 1997, the stage production of The Lion King made its Broadway debut, winning six Tony Awards. The London production opened at the Lyceum Theatre in London's West End in 1999, and the musical has mounted several other productions around the world including Hamburg, Tokyo, Madrid, Mexico City, Shanghai, and North America. The musical has been seen by more than 85 million people across every continent except Antarctica and its worldwide gross exceeds that of any other entertainment title in box office history.

No casting details were announced for the live action film, but it is expected to fast track into production.

 

Originally published on

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