It's Official: Beyoncé Will Play Nala In The Live-Action Lion King
On Wednesday, Disney casually announced the full cast for its upcoming live-action adaptation of the beloved animated classic, The Lion King, and it includes none other than—ring the alarm!—Beyoncé. We’d already learned back in February that James Earl Jones and Donald Glover would play key roles in the remake, but we were not prepared for how un-casual the rest of the cast would also be. Take a look at this insanely stacked group for yourself:
As this dream Instagram unveiling reveals, Beyoncé is set to play the lioness Nala, Simba’s best friend turned [SPOILER ALERT] wife. Meanwhile, Simba will be played by none other than Golden Globe Winner Donald Glover.
Other cast members include Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari, Florence Kasumba as Shenzi, JD McCrary as Young Simba, Shahadi Wright Joseph as Young Nala, John Kani as Rafiki, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, John Oliver as Zazu and Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner playing the lovable Pumbaa and Timon respectively. Oh, and of course the magnificent James Earl Jones will be reprising his role as Mufasa because, duh. Nobody could do it better.
Beyoncé fans (otherwise known as the Beyhive) understandably went nuts with the casting announcement and quickly took to Twitter to share in their excitement for both the film and what will ultimately be a fire soundtrack thanks to Beyoncé and Glover’s talents. Check out a few choice reactions from the ‘hive below.
https://twitter.com/commondsneyfan/status/925861768089538560
https://twitter.com/MamoudouNDiaye/status/925857026814726144