Just Can't Wait to Be King! Donald Glover and James Earl Jones Sign On for Live-Action Remake of THE LION KING

In two tweets this afternoon, director of the upcoming live action remake of Disney's, The Lion King, Jon Favreau, revealed that star of FX's "Atlanta", Donald Glover, and original Mufasa, James Earl Jones, will be starring in the film.

Glover, recently won two Golden Globes for his hit series "Atlanta," and is currently in principal photography for another Disney film, playing young Lando Calrissian in the "Star Wars" spin-off film centering on Han Solo.

James Earl Jones made his Broadway debut in 1957 and most recently starred on Broadway in The Gin Game and You Can't Take It With You. He won Tony Awards for The Great White Hope and Fences, and received Tony Award nominations for On Golden Pond and The Best Man. He received Drama Desk Awards for Othello, Les Blancs, Hamlet, The Cherry Orchard and Fences, Obie Awards for Clandestine on the Morning Line, The Apple, Moon on a Rainbow Shawl, the LA Critics Circle Award for Fences, and an Olivier Award nomination for Cat On A Hot Tin Roof. Other theatre credits include Driving Miss Daisy (Broadway, London, Australia). He is an award-winning film and TV actor and recipient of three Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award and a Lifetime Achievement Oscar.

Favreau will direct the film, currently being fast-tracked to the screen. It will feature a screenplay by Jeff Nathanson.

The project joins Disney's other recent reimaginings of its classic animated films, including Maleficent, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book. The highly anticipated BEAUTY AND THE BEAST movie, starring Emma Watson as Belle, will premiere in 2017. According to the site, the Lion King reboot will include songs from the animated film. No release date has been announced.

Released in theaters in 1994, THE LION KING was a global box office smash, grossing $968.8 million, including $422.8 million domestically. It received Academy Awards for the original song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (Elton John, Tim Rice) and original score (Hans Zimmer), as well as two Grammy Awards, with the soundtrack selling over 14 million copies.

In 1997, the stage production THE LION KING debuted on Broadway, earning six Tony Awards. The production continues to run and remains one of Broadway's biggest hits alongside several other productions running around the world, including London, Hamburg, Tokyo, Madrid, Mexico City, Shanghai, and North America. Translated into eight different languages, its 23 global productions have been seen by more than 85 million people across every continent except Antarctica.