Film

Your Boyfriend Donald Glover Will Play Simba in ‘The Lion King’

Can you feel the love tonight?

by Matilda Dixon-Smith  18 February 2017

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Rejoice! Your favourite rapper/actor/Golden Globe-winner Donald Glover has been cast as Simba in Disney’s upcoming remake of the classic anthropomorphised Shakespeare lesson, The Lion King.

The film will be helmed by The Jungle Book director (and Monica Gellar’s ex-boyfriend) Jon Favreau. Favreau made the casting announcement on Twitter with this adorable tweet/my new wallpaper:

So far details on Favreau’s The Lion King remake are tight. All that’s known is that he will use the same technology as his resplendent “live-action” (read: CGI-crazy) The Jungle Book. Favreau will also make use of the 1994 film’s iconic soundtrack, because no way Disney’s making the same mistake they made in their song-less Cinderella reboot.

Glover is joined by screen legend James Earl Jones, who will reprise the role of Mufasa, Simba’s father and the tragic king of the savanna. The two men are already linked on film, as Glover is slated to play a young Lando Calrissian in the upcoming Han Solo origin film for the behemoth Star Wars franchise. Jones is, of course, the inimitable voice of Darth Vader in the series.

This news is exciting for those of us who have been waiting for Glover to blast off in the film world. The last time Glover was suggested for an iconic role (in that case, 2000s Spiderman Miles Morales) racist detractors grabbed their pitchforks and trolled him online. Favreau’s brilliant decision, to cast burgeoning screen star Glover as your childhood animal crush Simba, is a brilliant fuck you to the haters.

Predictably, the internet is about as happy with the casting announcement as you are:

So get ready to hear Glover belt out a sexy version of “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King”. Until then, clap yer eyeballs on the above picture and prepare to ~feel the love~ when the film is released, which will likely be 2019.