The Rise Of Donald Glover Continues As He Joins The Live Action Reboot Of ‘The Lion King’

It seems like every week there is a new reboot in the works that leads to thousands of angry tweets of “you’re literally killing my childhood!!!” and general malaise that nothing gold can stay. So, when it was announced that Jon Favreau would be tackling one of Disney‘s best, The Lion King, with a live action reboot (or at least as “live action” as it can be with CGI animals), it sent many 90s kids into an emotional tailspin. Despite the fact that Favreau’s The Jungle Book was shockingly good, the classic retelling of Hamlet on the savannah is almost a sacred entity. However, Favreau figured out a way to get people fully onboard with some truly genius casting.

With a couple of tweets on Friday evening, Favreau announced that Donald Glover would be taking on the role of Simba and, perhaps most importantly, James Earl Jones will be returning to the role of Mufasa, ensuring that your childhood remains alive and well.

Somewhere, Jeremy Irons is sitting by his phone, waiting impatiently to return as the villainous Scar. Honestly, Jones was the only way to go. As he proved with his return as Darth Vader in Rogue One, you just can’t replace that deep baritone. This news is also proof of Donald Glover’s meteoric rise lately, finding success with his music, his award winning television show Atlanta, and his third Disney property (after Spider-Man: Homecoming and Han Solo). Not bad, Troy Barnes. Not bad.

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)