The Lion King to get live-action remake with Jon Favreau at the helm

The Disney classic will be given a makeover for the big screen
Hakuna matata: The Lion King is getting the remake treatment
Walt Disney
Emma Powell28 September 2016
The Weekender

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The Lion King is about to get the remake treatment, Disney has confirmed.

Director Jon Favreau is preparing to bring a live action take on the children’s classic to the big screen.

Favreau – who directed the recent live-action Jungle Book remake – teased the news with a cryptic tweet.

“Excited for my next project,” he posted alongside a lion and a crown emoji.

Disney also confirmed the news in a statement which read: “We can officially confirm that The Walt Disney Studios and director Jon Favreau are putting a new reimagining of The Lion King on the fast track to production.

“The project follows the technologically groundbreaking smash hit The Jungle Book, directed by Favreau, which debuted in April and has earned $965.8 million worldwide.”

The Lion King took $968.8 million at the global box office on its release in 1994 and is regarded as one of the biggest animated films of all time.

The film won two Academy Awards, for Best Original Score (Hans Zimmer) and Best Original Song with Sir Elton John and Tim Rice’s Can You Feel the Love Tonight. The songs Circle of Life and Hakuna Matata were also nominated.

It is the latest in a string of live-action Disney remakes including Maleficent and Cinderella.

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Beauty and the Beast, starring Dan Stevens and Emma Watson, Dumbo, directed by Tim Burton, Mulan and Tinker Bell, starring Reese Witherspoon, are all currently in production.

Aladdin is also set to get a live-action makeover as well as Pinocchio, which will star Robert Downey Jr. as carpenter Geppetto.

A release date for The Lion King or details about cast members have yet to be announced.

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