Yesterday, Disney dropped a warthog-sized bombshell on the world. Jungle Book director Jon Favreau will be remaking The Lion King. This project poses many interesting questions. How will the technology used on Jungle Book translate when there are no live action elements? Will all of the songs be included? Will the hyenas still march like Nazis!? However, perhaps the most fascinating query is this: who will take over these iconic roles? Well… I’ve decided to take a crack at it.
Young Simba – Abraham Attah
Attah made a stunning debut in Cary Fukunaga’s Beasts of No Nation last year, establishing himself as a young actor to watch. Obviously, his turn as a child soldier in that film is a far cry from Disney material, but tell me if this sounds familiar. Agu, his character, went from playful happy-go-lucky child to traumatized and mature man after insurgents killed his father and kidnapped him. Sure, Simba doesn’t become a soldier, but the root of the trauma is very similar. Attah could bring rambunctious energy to the film’s first act, and genuine pathos to the death of Mufasa.
Adult Simba – Chadwick Boseman
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Yes, I want Boseman to play his second Disney cat. This is yet another example of a previous role showing shades of a Lion King character. In Captain America: Civil War, T’Challa loses his father and is forced to take up the mantle of the Black Panther to defend him. Boseman brought both regal elegance and complex emotion to the role. Since Adult Simba really isn’t in The Lion King for very long, he has to make a huge impression very quickly. Boseman would make for a much more stoic Simba, which would work far better in live action. There would be a quiet intensity to him that would draw the audience in. Sure, we’d get shades of the grief he carries for his father, but it would be deeper down until the scene where Mufasa appears to him in the clouds. Perhaps Boseman would not be interested in the role due to its similarity to Black Panther, but perhaps getting the chance to sing could change his mind. Despite being dubbed over in Get On Up, the guy has a pretty great voice.
Honorable Mention: Charlie Cox
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Mufasa – Forest Whitaker
Like father, like son. Whitaker has a quiet power to his performances, very similar to Boseman. He’s authoritative, but there’s a warm quality to his voice that would make Mufasa immediately empathetic. Since the powerful lion roars are all done in ADR, it would make for a beautiful contrast to have such a soft voice come out of such a powerful creature. I see Boseman growing into a very Whitaker-esque actor anyway, so to watch that literally happen on screen would be magical.
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Scar – Denzel Washington
How do you follow Jeremy Irons? His turn as Scar provided perhaps the greatest Disney villain of all time. Cunning, regal and flat out scary. Well, my thought is, do something completely different. It goes without saying that Washington is a great actor. He’s one of the most iconic of all time. However, he is often typecast as a hero, and when he’s gotten to step outside of that, he’s really shined. He even won an Oscar for it in Training Day. What makes him so terrifying is how collected he is, even when he gets angry. There’s always a sense that he’s in complete control, which to me is the essence of Scar. I get chills just thinking about him delivering “long live the king.” I’m not sure if he can sing, but if he can, he could give the role a new spin that could equal Irons. Not to mention, he has star power for days.
Honorable Mentions: Giancarlo Esposito, Idris Elba (although come on, he can’t play every Disney villain, that’s cheating at this point.)
Nala – Lupita Nyong’o
I’ll keep this one short, as the entire world seems to be in agreement on this one. Nyong’o not only sounds a great deal like Moira Kelly but is practically born for the role. Her calming demeanor that can shift into intensity when needed is exactly what Nala needs. In her key scene, we need Simba and the audience to not only fall in love with her, but listen to her. Nyong’o would command the speech Nala gives Simba about going back to the Pride Lands. Out of all of my suggestions, this is the one that I’m most confident will actually happen.
Zazu – Don Cheadle
This is another character that I think should be taken in an entirely different direction from the original. I’ve heard people suggest Hugh Laurie for this role, another British comedian from Blackadder. He would be great, but he would also blend into Rowan Atkinson’s performance. Don Cheadle, on the other hand, while an entirely different kind of performer, is fantastic at playing the perplexed middle man. He has to do it all the time dealing with Tony Stark, and in something like Reign Over Me, he’s the sobering anchor to the craziness around him. His Zazu would not be such broad comic relief. He would be more dryly sarcastic and reasonable, which would make us more aggravated with young Simba for not listening to him.
Timon – Jamie Foxx
This one seems like a no-brainer to me. Foxx is an electrically entertaining performer, who has a very similar used car salesman bravado that Nathan Lane brought to the role. He would throw himself completely into both the musical numbers and the absurd comedy that makes Timon so charming. He could emulate Lane’s lightning fast delivery while giving it his own spin. We would immediately understand why Simba wants to stay with this guy. He’s just so much fun. Also, we’ve already seen him sing a mean version of “Hakuna Matata.”
Pumbaa – Terry Crews
Similar to Foxx, Crews brings an infectious energy to everything he does. He has that rich baritone voice, perfect for Pumbaa, and no problem being extremely silly. I could see him and Foxx improvising together in the booth, rattling off jokes that could be catnip for the animators.
Rafiki – Irrfan Kahn
This is a hard one because Rafiki ultimately does not have a big role in the story, but he is one of the most important characters. He has to be charming enough to change the entire course of Simba’s life. Kahn largely has that charm stocked in his voice. From only a few short scenes in Life of Pi, we get a sense of the wisdom his character acquired on his journey. He’s worldly, elegant and mysterious. When Kahn delivers Rafiki’s proverbs, the audience would stop and listen.
Shenzi, Banzi, Ed – Wanda Sykes, Chris Rock, Sharlto Copley
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