Circle of Life! Simba Rises as King in First Trailer for Disney's Live-Action 'The Lion King'

The sun is rising on a new king

The sun is rising on a new king.

In a Thanksgiving surprise, Disney released the first teaser trailer of the upcoming live-action film The Lion King.

Directed by Jon Favreau, who previously directed the 2016 live-action film The Jungle Book, fans of the original 1994 film will instantly be transported the famous Circle of Life.

“Everything the light touches is our kingdom. But a king’s time as ruler rises and falls like the sun,” Musfasa said in a voiceover as the camera panned over the African landscape.

“One day, the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as the new king,” he said as the iconic “Circle of Life” song by Carmen Twillie and Lebo M. began to play.

Lion-King
The Lion King. Disney

James Earl Jones reprises his role as Mufasa and is joined by Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Alfre Woodard as Simba’s mother Sarabi, John Kani as Rafiki, Seth Rogen Pumbaa and Billy Eichner as Timon.

Favreau shared a photo of himself in October alongside Glover, Rogen and Eichner with the simple caption, “#lionking.”

Disney announced the film in September 2017 after his update of The Jungle Book became a box office and critical hit. (A sequel is already in the works.) As with that film, the new Lion King is expected to use performance-capture technology and computer-generated imagery to bring its animal characters to life. It will also include songs from the original movie.

In addition to The Lion King, Disney has live-action reboots of Mulan, The Little Mermaid, Dumbo, and Aladdin in the works.

The Lion King will hit theaters on July 19, 2019.

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