Congratulations goes out to Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. The Grammy-winning singer, actress and activist has been added to the live-action version of Disney’s “The Lion King.” The announcement was made this week with Bey’s image posted amongst all of the other film stars.
Beyoncé has been in serious talks with Disney about the role since this past spring and it’s now official! She joins a star-studded cast including Donald Glover as Simba along with James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar and Alfre Woodard as Sarabi.
“Lion King” tells the story of Simba, a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands; however, after Simba’s uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile. Upon maturation living with two wastrels, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King.
Check out a video below of Tony Award-winning actress Heather Headley performing “Shadowland.” She appeared as Nala in the original Broadway musical and it's one of her signature songs. While this tune was not in the original movie, I’m sure the film’s producers will make an exception and allow Beyoncé to perform it or create a new song for her. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
“The Lion King” will debut in the summer of 2019.
