Disney is about to remake one of their all-time classics, but it looks like they waited until just the right time to do it. The studio has tappedJon Favreau, who directed the live-action version ofThe Jungle Bookfor them this year, to take on a new version ofThe Lion King. This seems to fit right in with Disney’s recent strategy of doing live-action remakes of their most beloved properties, such asCinderella, or the upcomingBeauty and the Beast.
Disneyofficially made the announcement on Wednesday, saying that the project is being put on the fast track to production. According to Disney, this new “reimagining” as they call it, will implement the same technology that was used to bring the animals and environments to life inThe Jungle Book.The Lion Kingis one of the studio’s most beloved movies, so much so that unlike many other animated movies made by Disney, there has only been one attempt at a sequel which was direct-to-video. Up to this point, it has pretty much been viewed as sacred ground as far as the big screen is concerned.
HavingJon Favreaudirect this new version ofThe Lion Kingmakes absolutely perfect sense on paper. He has had a long-standing, excellent relationship with Disney thanks toIron Man. Even though Disney didn’t own Marvel Studios at the time, the studio was built on the back of that movie, which led to Disney purchasing it. He has also served as an Executive Producer on many of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies since directingIron Man 2in 2010. But the main reason this makes so much sense isThe Jungle Book. Given the insanely positive reception to that movie (which currently has a 95 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes), which was based on another very beloved classic, it seems difficult to imagine anyone else taking on the project.
WhileThe Jungle Bookwas referred to as alive-action remake, for the most part, the vast majority of the movie was CGI, save forNeel Sethiwho played Mowgli and a few bits of actual sets that were blended with the animation. So, it makes sense that Disney wouldn’t call this new version ofThe Lion Kinga live-action remake, because without any human characters, there will likely be no live-action elements to it, but it will likely utilize motion capture. Granted, if it is anything likeThe Jungle Book, it will very much look real, which makes this a very new style of filmmaking.
The Jungle Bookis one of the most successful movies of 2016, having grossed $965 million on a $175 million budget. That perhaps makesThe Lion King’s box office take even more impressive. Released in 1994,The Lion Kingpulled in a staggering $968 million on a $45 million budget, making it one of the highest grossing animated movies of all-time, even when inflation isn’t taken into account. Disney did say that thisnew Lion King moviewill be put on the fast track, but they did not give any word on a release date. They also stated thatJon Favreauis still attached to direct a sequel toThe Jungle Book, which also does not have a release date.
