Donald Glover To Lead Jon Favreau’s The Lion King, James Earl Jones On Board As Well

After bringing The Jungle Book into the live-action realm with great success, both in terms of reviews and box office haul, Jon Favreau will be teaming up with Disney once again to put his mark on another classic and next up is The Lion King, which the director plans to shoot back to back with The Jungle Book 2. Before that happens, however, he needs to find a cast to bring the story to life and it seems that that process has now begun.

Taking to Twitter earlier today, Favreau revealed that Community star Donald Glover, who also holds roles in Spider-Man: Homecoming and the Han Solo spinoff, will star in The Lion King as Simba. Though a bit unexpected, this casting does make sense when you think about it, as Disney owns both Marvel and Star Wars, so they’re obviously on good terms with Glover and are fans of his work.

I just can’t wait to be king. #Simba pic.twitter.com/wUYKixMBJI

— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) February 18, 2017

It’s unknown if he’ll be playing the younger or older version of the character, or both, but more details should be revealed shortly. Either way, the actor’s involvement can only be a good thing as he’s one of the most talented individuals in Hollywood at the moment, proving himself a jack of many trades and always an enjoyable screen presence. His career seems to be on a massive upswing as of late, too, and this role will only continue to propel him further up the A-list.

The good news doesn’t end there, though, as Favreau revealed that James Earl Jones, who voiced Mufasa in the original Lion King, is also on board and will seemingly reprise his role. Between him and Glover, that’s an awfully strong start to the cast and we can’t wait to see who else Disney and the director are able to rope in as the project continues to develop.

Looking forward to working with this legend. #Mufasa pic.twitter.com/1LszbWrcYT

— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) February 18, 2017

Jon Favreau’s The Lion King is on course to hit theaters at some point in 2018. Once an exact release date is pinned down and more cast members announced, we’ll be sure to let you know!