EXCLUSIVE: Veteran scribe Jeff Nathanson has been tapped to pen the screenplay for The Lion King, Disney’s re-imagining of the iconic animated pic that Jon Favreau has recently came aboard to direct following the blockbuster success helming The Jungle Book. The live-action film is being fast-tracked to production, though no dates have been disclosed. Nathanson, whose writing credits include Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, the Rush Hour films and Tower Heist, now joins the push to update and reinvent Disney’s classics for a contemporary audience. The latest, Jungle Book, a CGI/live-action marvel, has grossed $966.2M worldwide. Next in the pipeline is Beauty And The Beast with Emma Watson and Dan Stevens, set for March 17, 2017. In similar fashion to that film, the live-action Lion King will include songs from the original animated pic. Disney’s Live-Action ‘Lion King’ Taps Jeff Nathanson As Writer
Friendly reminder, which I'm sure I will find plenty of opportunities to repeat: This "live action" remake will be animated.
Disney’s “Lion King” live-action reboot is getting in formation. Sources tell Variety that Beyonce is director Jon Favreau’s top choice to voice Nala in the upcoming remake. Beyonce Top Choice to Voice Nala in ‘Lion King’ Remake (EXCLUSIVE)
What, you don't think Beyoncé is a good actor? She's managed to convince people that she's a skilled musician all these years (despite obvious evidence to the contrary), so there's evidence to suggest she can take on just about any role. Just consider her nearly Oscar-worthy role as Foxy Cleopatra in the most forgettable of the Austin Powers movies
With hits like last year’s The Jungle Book, the Will Ferrell holiday staple Elf, and multiple Marvel blockbusters under his belt, few filmmakers have cast as wide a net on the entertainment industry as Jon Favreau. Still, the director is currently working to expand his Hollywood circle (of life) with Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of the 1994 animated classic The Lion King, production of which the 50-year-old teased during a Friday evening appearance at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. Speaking to a sold-out crowd at New York City’s School of Visual Arts Theatre, Favreau joined Scarlett Johansson for the latest entry in the Tribeca Talks’ Directors Series. The actress — whom Favreau has directed in films including Chef and Iron Man 2 — probed her frequent collaborator on the planned adaptation with a question about his connection to making movies based on established source material. Jon Favreau Teases Live-Action 'Lion King': 'You Gotta Live Up to What People Want'
Right? Same here. But after the success of the live action 'Beauty and the Beast' - what's a Bob to do?
At least BATB had some real footage of actors spliced in amongst the CGI. By all accounts, the remake of The Lion King will be entirely CGI, rendering the "live action" moniker useless It will be interesting to see how all these "live action" remakes go down in history, in comparison to Dinosaur, which used CGI characters but all live-action backgrounds. Some effects were practical and some were CGI, but in general the film has been considered to be "animated". The current crop seems to rely even less on the live action elements, yet keep the "live action" category
At first I didn't mind a Lion King "live action" movie, but it annoys me more and more. Additionally this movie took the Indiana Jones 5 release date.
The pride's all here! Alfre Woodard is the latest to join Jon Favreau's The Lion King, voicing Sarabi, Simba's mom. Woodard joins Donald Glover as Simba and James Earl Jones, who will be reprising his role as Mufasa. Madge Sinclair voiced Sarabi in the original 1994 Disney animated version. Alfre Woodard Joins Disney's 'The Lion King' (Exclusive)
I love that James Earl Jones will voice Mufasa. Although as Datth Vader in 'Rogue One' he sounded.... old.