On Thanksgiving last week, the world was introduced to the first teaser of Disney’s 2019’ adaptation of their 1994 animated classic The Lion King. For anyone who was left utterly hanging following the bare-minimum teaser for Aladdin coming out in the same year, this preview was definitely on another level.
The sequences shown in the Lion King teaser were actually shown well before the teaser premiere, when the whole “Circle of Life” sequence was shown behind closed doors to attendees of the previous D23 convention. The song also takes center stage here, but shares the limelight with a speech from Mufasa and some new scenes.
After the title card, the teaser included a quick sequence showing the names of the movie’s primary cast. Here’s the list:
- Donald Glover (Solo: A Star Wars Story) as Simba
- Seth Rogen as Pumbaa
- Chiwetel Ejiofor (Doctor Strange) as Scar
- Billy Eichner as Timon
- John Oliver as Zazu
- Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari, a new hyena character replacing Ed from the 1994 film
- Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala
- James Earl Jones as Mufasa, reprising from the 1994 film
Cast members not named in the trailer include:
- John Kani (Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther) as Rafiki
- Alfre Woodard as Sarabi
- Florence Kasumba as Shenzi
- Eric Andre as Azizi, a new hyena character replacing Banzai from the 1994 film
- J.D. McCrary as young Simba
- Shahadi Wright Joseph as young Nala
The Lion King premieres on July 19, 2019.