JAMES EARL JONES will reprise his role from The Lion King in the new live-action remake, the film’s director has revealed.
The veteran US actor voiced Simba’s father Mufasa in the original 1994 Disney animation, which won two Oscars and earned 968 million dollars (£780 million) at the box office.
Jon Favreau, who is directing the new version, posted a photo of Jones on Twitter with the caption: “Looking forward to working with this legend Mufasa.”
Favreau also revealed actor and musician Donald Glover, the star of TV comedy series Atlanta, will voice the character of Simba in the upcoming film.
Jones, 86, is a Tony Award and Golden Globe winning actor who famously voices Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies.
Disney announced in September it was “putting a new re-imagining of The Lion King on the fast track to production” following the success of Favreau’s live-action version of The Jungle Book.
Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent have been also been remade by Disney in recent years, while Emma Watson and Dan Stevens star in a live-action version of Beauty And The Beast due out in cinemas next month.
Favreau is also directing a sequel to his version of The Jungle Book, which made 965 million dollars (£777 million) at the box office.
A release date for the new Lion King film has not been announced.
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