Disney Wants to Expand ‘The Lion King’ Into a ‘Star Wars’-Like Franchise
Written by on June 6, 2023
It seems Walt Disney Pictures has a never-ending stream of live-action remakes for fans of the franchise to look forward to. One of these, 2019’s adaptation of The Lion King from director Jon Favreau, generated more than $1.6 billion at the global box office. A follow-up film is already on the way, and Disney’s chief executive has now hinted that the studio is exploring a larger Lion King universe similar to the Star Wars saga.
In an interview with The New York Times, Sean Bailey, president of Walt Disney Pictures, said that there is the potential for Lion King to expand into “a big, epic saga” like Star Wars. “There’s a lot of room to run if we can find the stories,” Bailey said of a possible Lion King universe. While Bailey remained quiet about any specific details, this could potentially mean a wider foray into film and television for Lion King, given that Star Wars has been ever expanding since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm in 2012, with at least three new films currently in development and a slate of new TV shows on the horizon.
While it remains to be seen if this will pan out, there is already at least one expansion to the 2019 Lion King film on the way. Mufasa: The Lion King, a live-action prequel which will explore the origins of Simba’s father, is in development with Moonlight director Barry Jenkins set to helm the project. James Earl Jones will not be returning as Mufasa, instead being replaced by Aaron Pierre as a younger version of the famed lion. Kelvin Harrison Jr. will portray Mufasa’s brother Scar. Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, and John Kani are set to reprise their roles as Pumbaa, Timon, and Rafiki, respectively, from the 2019 adaptation.
Disney is Going All-In on Live-Action
Bailey expressing a willingness to explore more Lion King in live-action shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given the success of the 2019 film and Mufasa already being in production. In recent years, Disney has shifted significant attention towards live-action remakes of classic animated features. This uptick began with 2016’s The Jungle Book, an adaptation of the 1967 animated film that was also directed by Favreau, with subsequent films including 2019’s Aladdin, 2020’s Mulan, and 2021’s Cruella. Then there is The Little Mermaid, a live-action retelling directed by Rob Marshall that is currently in theaters. The film, which stars Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy, has already turned a profit, and has generated $326 million at the global box office.
Disney is not done with its live-action remakes, though, with a number of other films coming down the pipeline. The next will be Snow White, an adaptation of Disney’s first-ever animated film starring Rachel Zegler in the title role alongside Gal Gadot. While most of the live-action adaptations have focused on older films, some retellings of new projects are in development as well. This includes live-action versions of Lilo & Stitch and Moana, the latter of which was originally released just seven years ago.
Mufasa: The Lion King is slated to be released on July 5, 2024.
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