Nigerian Chiwetel Ejiofor is in talks to play Scar in the live-action remake of ‘The Lion King’.
Disney are rebooting the beloved 1994 animated movie with ‘Jungle Book’ filmmaker Jon Favreau helming the project and now the ‘Doctor Strange’ actor is reportedly in talks to play the villain of the movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Sinister Scar, who is the brother of Mufasa and uncle to the young cub Simba, was originally voiced by Jeremy Irons in the award-winning 1994 animated Disney movie. Another addition to the cast John Oliver, 40, will join the cast, which includes Donald Glover as Simba and James Earl Jones, who will be reprising his role as Mufasa from the cartoon classic.
English comedian John Oliver will be voicing Zazu, a hornbill who serves as the king’s majordomo and was originally played by Rowan Atkinson. Recently it was revealed that Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner were cast to play the comedy duo Timon and Pumbaa.
The movie is set for a July 2019 release and Favreau is already in pre-production, with Jeff Nathanson writing the script. It has also been rumoured that Beyoncé is the preferred choice to play Nala in the movie.
As well as keeping Sir Elton John and Tim Rice’s original songs, which include 1995 Academy Award winner ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight’, as well as ‘Be Prepared’ and ‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King’, the remake will also feature some new tunes. Disney has released a string of remakes as of late including ‘Maleficent’, ‘Cinderella’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’.
