The Lion King Reborn

The Lion King Reborn is an upcoming 2019 American animated epic, adventure, musical, drama, and dark comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers from a screenplay by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton, and Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures. It is a remake of Disney's traditionally animated 1994 film and the first feature part of the Disney Reborn Multiverse (DRM). Based on the Lion King franchise, it will feature an ensemble voice cast that includes Matthew Broderick, Ernie Sabella, Jeremy Irons, Alfre Woodard, Nathan Lane, Rowan Atkinson, Robert Guillaume, Suzanne Pleshette, Meredith Scott Lynn, Jason Marsden, Neve Campbell, Moira Kelly, and James Earl Jones. It features posthumous film performances by Pleshette, who died in January 2008 and Guillaume, who died in October 2017, and the film is dedicated to their memories.

The Lion King Reborn retells the story of Simba (Swahili for 'lion'), a young lion cub, who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands; however, after Simba's paternal uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is manipulated into thinking he was responsible and flees into exile. Upon maturation living with two wastrels, Simba is given some valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, and his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King. The film later centers on Simba and Nala's daughter Kiara, who falls in love with Kovu, a male rogue lion from a banished pride that was once loyal to Scar. Separated by Simba's prejudice against the banished pride and a vindictive plot planned by Kovu's mother Zira, Kiara and Kovu struggle to unite their estranged prides and be together.

With the film co-produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, it is set to be distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The Lion King Reborn also marks as one of the last films to be released by DisneyToon Studios after its closure in June 2018. Plans for a remake of The Lion King were confirmed in September 2016 following the success of Jon Favreau's The Jungle Book. Animation began in January 2017 at Walt Disney Animation Studios with a large cast consisting mostly of voice actors and actresses reprising their roles from the original films and television series. The production lasted until February 2018. Additional production took place at DisneyToon Studios shortly before its defunct.

The film was released early on January 21, 2019 in Ukraine, and it is set to be released on July 19 in the United States on YouTube in IMAX format, celebrating the 1994 film's 25th anniversary.

Synopsis
An unprecedented cinematic journey twenty-five years in the making and spanning of The Lion King, Scar seeks to take the mantle as King after he murders his brother Mufasa, and Simba, Kovu, Kiara, Nala, Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa must stop Scar and his follower Zira in a showdown before their onslaught of destruction puts an end to the Pride Lands.

Plot
A meerkat named Timon, who is a social outcast of his colony outskirts, "the Pit of Shame", dreams for more in life than his colony's bleak existence hiding from predators, but his daydreaming leads to the near-death of his Uncle Max by a trio of hyenas named Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. Timon leaves to find a better life, and meets a pig named Pumbaa, who suffers from demophobia-triggered flatulence problems. Although the two quickly form a bond and Pumbaa accompanies Timon as his acquaintance, they start living in a small oasis behind the landmark while King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi's newborn son Simba is presented to the crowded animals at a majestic place named Pride Rock.

Mufasa shows young Simba the Pride Lands and explains to him the responsibilities of kingship and the Circle of Life which connects all living things. Meanwhile, Mufasa's younger and selfish brother Scar covets the throne and plots to eliminate Mufasa and Simba so he may become king. He and his henchmen of hyenas set a trap for his brother and nephew, luring Simba into a gorge and having the hyenas drive a large herd of wildebeest into a stampede that will trample him. Scar refuses to help Mufasa, instead sending him falling to his death, then convinces Simba that the tragedy was his own fault and advises him to flee the kingdom and never return. Scar tells the pride that Mufasa and Simba were killed in the stampede and steps forward as the new king. Meanwhile, Timon and Pumbaa finally settle in a huge luxurious green jungle. Sooner enough, they rescue Simba on a desert floor before they raise him under their philosophy of "Hakuna Matata" (Swahili for 'no worries').

Years later, Simba rescues Timon and Pumbaa from a hungry young adult lioness, who turns out to be his best friend Nala. She and Simba reunite and fall in love, and she argues with him to return home, telling him the Pride Lands have become a drought-stricken wasteland under Scar's reign. Feeling guilty over his father's death, Simba refuses and storms away. He encounters Mufasa's adviser Rafiki, who says that Mufasa's spirit lives on in Simba, and he is visited by the ghost of his father in the night sky, who tells him he must take his rightful place as king. Realizing he can no longer run from his past, Simba decides to return home.

As Scar taunts Simba over his role in Mufasa's death, he backs his nephew to the edge of Pride Rock, where he reveals to Simba that he murdered Mufasa. Enraged, Simba pins Scar to the ground and forces him to reveal the truth to the rest of the pride. After Timon proposes that they all help Simba by getting rid of the hyenas, he, Pumbaa, Nala, Sarabi, Zazu, Rafiki, and the other lionesses fend off the hyenas, alongside Timon's Ma and Max, who are directed to construct a series of tunnels beneath the hyenas. When the tunnels are finished, Max knocks down the sticks, the cave-in commences, and the hyenas are ejected through the tunnels. Scar begs for mercy and attempts to blame the hyenas for his actions, but Simba spares his life and orders him to leave the Pride Lands forever. Scar suddenly attacks his nephew, but Simba manages to toss him from the top of Pride Rock. Scar survives the fall, but then gets eaten by his former henchmen of hyenas, because one overheard him betray them to Simba.

With his enemies gone, Simba takes over the kingship as the rains begin to fall, restoring life to the land; Timon takes his entire meerkat colony to live in predator-free environment to complete his "Hakuna Matata"; Nala gives birth to a newborn cub; and she is presented to the assembled animals. Rafiki paints an emblem of the cub on the trunk of his tree, but Mufasa's spirit ruffles the painting, making him discover another cub that's living in rogues known as the "Outlands" named Kovu.

A few weeks later, Kiara becomes annoyed with her father's overprotective parenting and enters the Outlands, where she meets Kovu. His mother Zira reminds Simba of how he exiled her and the other Outsiders, and reveals that Scar selected Kovu to be his successor despite not being his biological father. After returning to the Pride Lands, Simba lectures Kiara about the danger posed by the Outsiders, and reminds her they are part of each other. In the Outlands, Zira reminds Kovu that Simba killed Scar and exiled the lions who respect him. Kovu explains that he does not think it is so bad to have Kiara as a friend, but Zira realizes that she can use Kovu's friendship with Kiara to seek revenge on Simba.

Several years later, Kiara, now a young adult, begins her first solo hunt. As part of Zira's plan, Kovu's siblings Nuka and Vitani trap Kiara in a fire, allowing Kovu to rescue her. Simba is forced to accept Kovu's place since he rescued Kiara. Kovu contemplates attacking Simba as he was instructed to, but he teaches Kiara how to hunt instead and eventually realizes his feelings for her.

Later, Kiara and Kovu stargaze where they talk about the Great Kings of the Past and Kovu wonders if there is a darkness in him like there was in Scar. That night, Simba allows Kovu to sleep inside Pride Rock with the rest of the pride, but because of this, Zira sets a trap for her son and Simba.

The next day, Kovu once again tries to reveal his mission to Kiara, but Simba takes him around the Pride Lands and tells him Scar's story. The Outsiders then ambush Simba, resulting in Nuka's death from a log pile and Simba's escape. Enraged, Zira scratches Kovu for his brother's death, causing him to turn against her. Kovu returns to Pride Rock to asks Simba for his forgiveness, but is exiled. Kiara makes Simba realize that he is acting irrationally, and flees to find Kovu. The two lions later find each other and profess their love. Realizing that they must reunite the two prides, Kiara and Kovu return to the Pride Lands and convince them to stop fighting. When Zira attempts to kill Simba, Kiara intervenes and Zira falls to her death. With his enemy gone, Simba accepts Kovu and the Outsiders back into the Pride Lands.

Voice cast

 * Main article: List of The Lion King characters

The Lion King Reborn features most of the voice cast reprising their roles from the original films, respectively through recycled voice clips with some new ones. Alfre Woodard also returns to voice Sarabi from the 2019 remake, replacing the late Madge Sinclair from 1994, via consisting most of Sinclair's dialogues.

A lion, son of Mufasa and Sarabi, who is the crown prince of the Pride Lands. Simba later becomes Nala's husband, and Kiara's overprotective father. Joseph Williams and Cam Clarke provided the character's singing voice. Co-director Roger Allers explained that Simba "senses this greater threat approaching, so he is doing everything in his ability to keep the Pride Lands safe". Mark Henn, Ruben A. Aquino, Bob Baxter, and Ian Harrowell respectively served as the supervising animators for young and adult Simba. Mufasa's treacherous younger brother, Simba's uncle and Kiara's granduncle, who overtakes the throne and seeks to take the mantle of king. According to the directors, "[a] patronizing quality" was vital to Scar's "psychologically possessed" and "brutalized" role in the film. Minkoff told the Los Angeles Times, "When Scar puts the guilt trip on Simba, that's an intense idea ... probably something that is not typical of the other Disney pictures, in terms of what the villain does." Additionally, Scar serves as a departure from previous Disney villains because they "came off at least as buffoonish as they were sinister". Because Scar is the film's main antagonist, it was believed that "villains work really well when they're subtle", explaining, "to see them think and scheme and plot is much more interesting than showing them beating somebody up." John Vickery, who returns from the Broadway production since 1997, provided the character's singing voice in "Be Prepared" and "The Madness of King Scar". Jim Cummings, who has voiced the villain in Simba's Pride and the Kingdom Hearts series, served as Irons' "Scar substitute". Andreas Deja served as the supervising animator for Scar. A comedic meerkat, who becomes Pumbaa's best friend and one of Simba's adoptive parents. Though somewhat selfish, arrogant, and withdrawn, Timon shows courageous loyalty towards his friends. Lane said that Timon "[is] such a great role that allows you to do so much. But [he has] learned that the bigger the project and the bigger the names that you’re working with, the more you have to ignore it. If you get to the soundstage and you’re thinking, ‘Oh no, what a full-nutty-circle-of-life moment! Billy Eichner did it newly! Moira Kelly's in this one!’, then you’re paralyzed creatively. You just have to put that out of your head in order to get the job done." Michael Surrey, and Bob Baxter served as the supervising animators for Timon. A naïve, but hearten warthog, who becomes Timon's symbiotic partner and one of Simba's adoptive parents. Though slow-witted, Pumbaa is very empathetic and willing to trust and befriend anyone. He is also claustrophobic and passes gas in crowds. Tony Bancroft and Bob Baxter served as the supervising animators for Pumbaa. Mufasa's devoted mate, Simba's mother, the leader of the lioness hunting party, and the Queen of Pride Rock, as the film begins. Woodard reprises her role from the 2019 live-action/CGI remake of the 1994 animated film. According to casting director Jamie Thomason, Sarabi's lines provided by the late Madge Sinclair remain the same from the original film. Angela Bassett was a former audition to be the character's new voice actress after Minkoff and Favreau saw her performance as Queen Ramonda in the 2018 Marvel Studios film Black Panther. Russ Edmonds served as the supervising animator for Sarabi. The leader of the Outsiders, Scar's most loyal follower and Nuka, Vitani, and Kovu's widowed mother. Nika Futterman formerly auditioned to voice Zira, returning from The Lion Guard. This marks Pleshette's final voice role after her death on January 19th, 2008. Kevin Peaty served as the supervising animator for Zira. A wise mandrill, who teaches Timon Hakuna Matata, as well as giving him faith in himself to do what he dreams of doing. Rafiki also serves as shaman of the lion king to present newborn cubs of the King and Queen to the animals of the Pride Lands. Khary Payton formerly auditioned to voice Rafiki, reprising his role from The Lion Guard. This marks Guillaume's final film role after his death on October 24th, 2017 and retirement in 2014. John Kani, who will voice Rafiki in the 2019 live-action version, served as Guillaume's "Rafiki substitute". Bob Baxter, James Baxter and Alexs Stadermann served as the supervising animators for Rafiki. A red-billed hornbill, who serves as the lion king's majordomo and adviser (or "Mufasa's little stooge", as Shenzi calls him). Edward Hibbert, who has voiced the character in Simba's Pride and The Lion King 1½, served as Atkinson's "Zazu substitute". Ellen Woodbury served as the supervising animator for Zazu. A lioness, and the daughter of Simba and Nala, who grows up to become future Queen of the Pride Lands. Liz Callaway provided adult Kiara's singing voice. Lianne Hughes served as the supervising animator for Kiara. A lion living in the Outlands, who is Zira's son, Nuka and Vitani's younger brother, and the chosen successor of Scar to become King of the Pride Lands instead of Simba. Kenny Lattimore provided Kovu's singing voice. Andrew Collins served as the supervising animator for Kovu. Zira's aggressive and spunky daughter, and Nuka and Kovu's sister. Lynn described her role in the film as more maternal than previously, as she co-leads the Outsiders. Lynn replaces Jennifer Lien when she had run-ins which resulted in her being charged with a number of offences that led the court ordering her to undergo mental health treatment. Kevin Peaty served as the supervising animator for Vitani. The sassy and short-tempered female leader of her hyena clan. Shenzi's full name "Shenzi Marie Predatora Veldetta Jacquelina Hyena" is revealed by Timon when he proposes to her. Tracy Nicole Chapman, who returns from the Broadway production, provided the character's singing voice in "Chow Down", "Be Prepared", and "The Madness of King Scar". Bob Baxter, Alex Kupershmidt and David Burgess served as the supervising animators for Shenzi. An aggressive and hot-headed Mexican-accent hyena prone to complaining and acting on impulse, who is Scar's henchman. Stanley Wayne Mathis, who returns from the Broadway production, provided the character's singing voice in "Chow Down", "Be Prepared", and "The Madness of King Scar". Bob Baxter, Alex Kupershmidt and David Burgess served as the supervising animators for Banzai. An unhinged hysterical hyena, who laughs a lot and is Scar's henchman. Bob Baxter, Alex Kupershmidt and David Burgess served as the supervising animators for Ed. Timon's caring mother. She is overly protective and attached to her son, often trying to get him accepted amongst the colony, but never succeeding. Lianne Hughes served as the supervising animator for Ma. Timon's paranoid, eccentric but deep down kind-hearted uncle. He initially doubts Timon's ability, but warms up to him at the film's climax. Lianne Hughes served as the supervising animator for Max. Zira's son, Vitani and Kovu's older brother and the oldest male of Zira's family. Ian Harrowell served as the supervising animator for Nuka. A lioness, who is Simba's best friend and later his future love-interest, Queen of the Pride Lands, and Kiara's mother. Heather Headley, who returns from the Broadway production, provided Nala's singing voice in "The Madness of King Scar", "Shadowland", and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight". Aaron Blaise, Anthony de Rosa, and Ian Harrowell respectively served as the supervising animators for young and adult Nala. Simba's father, and King of the Pride Lands, as the film begins. Jones reprises his role from the original 1994 animated film. According to Jon Favreau, Jones' lines remain mostly the same from the original film. Tony Fucile served as the supervising animator for Mufasa. A meerkat in Timon's colony. Rudofsky reprised his role as his character from The Lion King 1½, though it is uncertain if footage of his appearance was used. Lianne Hughes served as the supervising animator for Flinchy.
 * Matthew Broderick as Simba
 * Jonathan Taylor Thomas as young Simba (archive recordings). Evan Saucedo and Jason Weaver provided the cub's singing voice, while Connor Funk provided his growls, although Funk was uncredited.
 * Jeremy Irons as Scar
 * Nathan Lane as Timon
 * Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa
 * Alfre Woodard as Sarabi
 * Suzanne Pleshette as Zira
 * Robert Guillaume as Rafiki
 * Rowan Atkinson as Zazu
 * Neve Campbell as Kiara
 * Michelle Horn as infant Kiara (archive recordings). Charity Sanoy provided her singing voice, while Ashley Edner provided her growls, although Edner was uncredited.
 * Jason Marsden as Kovu
 * Ryan O'Donohue as infant Kovu (archive recordings)
 * Meredith Scott Lynn as Vitani
 * Lacey Chabert as young Vitani. Chabert has returned to voice the younger self of her character since 21 years after the release of Simba's Pride. Crysta Macalush Winton provided the cub's singing voice.
 * Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi
 * Cheech Marin as Banzai
 * Jim Cummings as Ed
 * Julie Kavner as Timon's Ma
 * Jerry Stiller as Uncle Max
 * Andy Dick as Nuka
 * Moira Kelly as Nala
 * Niketa Calame-Harris as young Nala. Harris has returned to voice young Nala after 25 years since 1994. Laura Williams provided the cub's singing voice.
 * James Earl Jones as Mufasa
 * Jason Rudofsky as Flinchy

The Walt Disney Company's late feature animation divisor Zoe Leader will voice Nala's mother Sarafina through archive clips from the 1994 film. This marks Leader's last film role after her death from cancer in March 3, 2015.

Additionally, Jeff Bennett will reprise the voice of Iron Joe from The Lion King 1½; S. Scott Bullock will reprise the voice of Timon's prankster cousin Fred from The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa for a cameo appearance; and Madison Pettis and Sarah Hyland will also reprise the voices of Kiara's best friends Zuri and Tiifu from the Disney Junior series The Lion Guard, marking the first time two characters in a Disney television series appear in a Disney-distributed film.

Tress MacNeille and Jeff Bennett were set to reprise their voice roles as Tatiana, the princess of Timon's meerkat colony, and the Duke, Tatiana's father from The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa, while Amy Sedaris had a cameo as an elephant shrew, but this scene did not make the theatrical cut of the film. Max Charles, Joshua Rush, Dusan Brown, Diamond White, and Atticus Shaffer were also set to reprise their roles as Kion, Bunga, Beshte, Fuli, and Ono as the film's secondary protagonists, but were immediately cut for a reboot series of the Lion Guard. Although they won't appear in the final cut, they have been in early promos. According to Bradley Raymond, Fearless Buzz, a less complicated character removed from The Lion King 1½, will reportedly also appear with a "mystery" role as Timon's father.

Development
Shortly after the success of the 2016 live-action remake of The Jungle Book, the film's director Jon Favreau announced there would a special edition themed "director's cut" of the 1994 film. It was originally planned to be released in summer of 2017, known as The Lion King: The Special Edition Cut. Favreau, Rob Minkoff, Don Hahn and Ford Riley, the executive producer of The Lion Guard, came on board to tie the original films and television series together on a computer program known as Movie Maker, later Filmora. However, in April 2018, the film's title would then be changed to The Lion King: The King Has Returned. On May, the film's title was changed again to its title The Lion King: Return of the King. On June 14, the title was once changed again to its official title The Lion King Reborn. On July 5th, Minkoff stated that the film would be "darker" and more "serious" yet "epic", "emotional", "action-packed", "deeper" and "down to Earth" in tone than from previous Lion King adaptations in the franchise.

The film includes The Lion King, its sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and its midquel/prequel The Lion King 1½.

Roger Allers, who previously directed the 1994 film, had a short time with Disney as this film's co-director, but then left during production due to him spending more time with his family.

Casting
In mid-February 2017, Matthew Broderick and James Earl Jones were cast as Simba and Mufasa, with the duo reprising their roles from the 1994 film.

In April 2017, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella were in talks to reprising their roles as Timon and Pumbaa respectively. In July 2017, Rowan Atkinson was cast to return as Zazu. In August 2017, Julie Kavner was cast to reprise her role as Timon's Ma with Jerry Stiller and Robert Guilllaume in talks to return as Uncle Max and Rafiki.

In mid-February 2018, Jeremy Irons, Cheech Marin, Whoopi Goldberg, Jim Cummings, Jason Marsden, Andy Dick, and Lacey Chabert were all cast to reprise their roles as Scar, Banzai, Shenzi, Ed, Kovu, Nuka, and young Vitani from the 1994 film and Simba's Pride.

Earlier in February 2017, it was announced that Moira Kelly was Minkoff's top choice for the role of Nala and that the director and studio would be willing to do whatever it took to accommodate her busy schedule on Girl in the Bunker. Later on June 2018, Niketa Calame-Harris was confirmed to return as young Nala after 25 years. Archive recordings of the late Guillaume and Suzanne Pleshette, as well as Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Michelle Horn, and Ryan O'Donohue as Rafiki, Zira, young Simba, Kiara, and Kovu will be included respectively.

On 20 October 2018, Alfre Woodard was announced to be the voice of Sarabi, returning from her time on the 2019 live-action/CGI remake that would be released next year.

In March 2019, Meredith Scott Lynn was cast to voice adult Vitani, replacing Jennifer Lien due to her arrest for driving on a revoked license in Kingston, Tennessee. On that same day, Neve Campbell would voice adult Kiara once again from The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, and Moira Kelly's role as Nala was confirmed in an official announcement, replacing Gabrielle Union from the summer of 2018.

On 13 May 2019, an official announcement from Ford Riley confirmed that Madison Pettis and Sarah Hyland were cast to reprise their roles as Kiara's best friends Zuri and Tiifu from the Disney Junior series The Lion Guard, marking the first time two characters in a television series appear in a movie from the Disney Vault. Thirteen days later, Jason Rudofsky and Jeff Bennett were announced to return as Flinchy and Iron Joe from The Lion King 1½.

Back in April 2018, it was rumored that Joshua Rush, Diamond White, Atticus Shaffer, Dusan Brown, and Max Charles would return as Bunga, Fuli, Ono, Beshte, and Kion from The Lion Guard to appear as this film's secondary protagonists, but then were unfinished to have the roles be in the final cut as of March 2019, which would later be included for an upcoming reboot series of the television show of the same name.

Production
Production on the film commenced in the summer of 2017 in Los Angeles, California, using "a lot of virtual-reality tools" per Visual Effects Supervisor Rob Legato. Though if we don't count the included the songs from the Broadway performance, they will be used in a "special edition" for the film's home video release.

It has been confirmed that the film will have a runtime of 3 hours and 24 minutes long.

Post-production
The film dedicates to the memories of Pleshette and Guillaume. This also dedicates and marks one of the final credits for film editor Mark Livolsi, who died on September 23, 2018, and British actor W. Morgan Sheppard, who died in January 6, 2019, and provided the voice of Captain Bloodbeard in The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa.

The animated scenes of "Chow Down", "The Madness of King Scar", and "Shadowland" will be made shortly before the film's release.

On 16 April 2019, the official theatrical poster was released. The poster, featuring 13 characters, had 12 of those actors listed on the top-billing, with Meredith Scott Lynn excluded. Despite Lynn's name appearing in the poster's bottom billing block along with Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings, Julie Kavner, Jerry Stiller, and Andy Dick (none of whom were featured on the poster), her exclusion in the top billing prompted criticism from fans. However, later in the day Walt Disney Pictures released an updated poster with Lynn's name in the top billing.

As of May 7, Disney has announced for their Reborn Multiverse films to have no leaked plots be released. The fake plot of this film went for nearly a whole year from March 2018 to February 2019.

Although Julie Taymor was credited as the "Costume Designer" for the film since the Broadway production in 1997, there were no real animal costumes as well as giant, hollow puppets used since the feature is animated.

Visual effects
The visual effects are provided by DisneyToon Studios and the Moving Picture Company, as well as supervised by Elliot Newman, Robert Legato and Adam Valdez.

Music
On November 1, 2017, it was announced that Hans Zimmer would return to write the film's score, having previously scored the 1994 animated version. On November 28, 2017, it was reported that Elton John had signed onto the project to rework his musical compositions shortly before his retirement. The film is expected to have songs from previous Lion King films, including "Digga Tunnah (Dance)", "That's All I Need", "Circle of Life", "I Just Can't Wait to be King", "Hakuna Matata", "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", "He Lives in You", "We Are One", "My Lullaby", "Upendi", "Not One of Us", and "Love Will Find a Way". It was reported that the film would include five songs from the musical: "Chow Down", "Endless Night", "The Morning Report", "The Madness of King Scar" and "Shadowland", alongside a new song written by Tim Rice titled "Rafiki Huomboleza" (translating to "Friend Mourns"). The soundtrack also features The Good, The Bad and the Ugly original theme song composed by Ennio Morricone, the opening theme song from Peter Gunn, "Sunrise, Sunset" from the musical Fiddler on the Roof, "It's a Small World (After All)" written by Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman, and "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" performed by Fred Heatherton.
 * See also: The Lion King Reborn/Soundtrack

Rejected ideas
In earlier concepts of the film, Tatiana from the television series The Lion King's Timon & Pumbaa was meant to appear as one of the film's secondary deuteragonists. Tress MacNeille and Jeff Bennett came in to reprise their roles as her and the Duke Meerkat from the episode "Once Upon a Timon". However, the characters' scenes were deleted for the finalized release due to timing reasons.
 * Main article: The Lion King Reborn: The Craig and Gannaway Cut

Marketing
On December 25, the official teaser trailer was released. A day later, a teaser trailer reaction promoted, featuring Simba, Bunga, Timon and Pumbaa watching on their Blu-Ray 3D set.

On April 1, an "April Fools' Day" tease was released, featuring Timon and Pumbaa fixing a slight error at the end of the trailer.

According to Jon Favreau, the official trailer will be released on June 15, celebrating the 1994 film's 25th anniversary.

Reception
Indian film critic, C. S. Venkiteswaran, the Artistic Director of the Signs film festival, gives The Lion King Reborn an early rating of 8.5 out of 10.

Ahead of the film's release, the "Want to See" score, an audience anticipation poll on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, had risen to 91%.

Release
The Lion King Reborn was originally going to be released in August 2017. One year later, the directors confirmed that the film's production would be moved up and was set to be released in June 15, 2019 in honor to celebrate the 1994 film's 25th anniversary, and finally July 19 where the 2019 remake will be released on that day also.

On January 21, 2019, the film premiered early in Ukraine.

Home media
The Lion King Reborn will be the first Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures-distributed film not to stream on Netflix, after Disney decided to let their licensing deal with Netflix expire, and is intended to be the first theatrical Disney release to stream exclusively on Disney+ alongside the 2019 remake, Toy Story 4, Frozen 2, Captain Marvel, and Avengers: Endgame sometime in December 2019.

Rating
The Lion King Reborn was originally going to be rated G by the MPAA, and it would have been the first family-friendly title with a G rating in a long time. However, the film was later re-rated PG likely due to the serious yet deeper tone and mild crude humor, including Pumbaa's flatulence problems throughout the storyline.

Novelization
A spin-off canon novel named The Lion King: Crucible will be released soon.
 * Main article: The Lion King: Crucible

Art book
In order to tradition for each and every animated Disney production, a new book will be released featuring concept arts, biographies of the cast and features for the film's purpose.

Spin-offs
There is a spin-off television series titled Over the Pride Lands Wall. This retells of Cartoon Network's Emmy Award winning miniseries Over the Garden Wall, set in the world of The Lion King. As The Lion King Reborn celebrates the franchise's 25th anniversary, this television series will be airing on its 5th anniversary from November 3-7.
 * Main articles: Over the Pride Lands Wall and Miraculous Lion King

An another spin-off series titled Miraculous Lion King will premiere in French on 2020 made by Disney Television Animation and Zagtoons it retells it in the world of The Lion King. It tells the Adventures of Marinette and Adrien, a cheetah and a leopard as they become superheroes Mkojo and Nyeusi Chui to stop the evil Hawkmoth and the spirit of Scar.

The Lion Guard compilation film series
Upon the release of The Lion Guard episode "The Fall of Mizimu Grove", Kendall Michele Haney confirmed seven films to retell what happened before and during the "epic serialized story" of the television series' Seasons 1 through 3.

The film series will star Max Charles, Joshua Rush, Atticus Shaffer, Dusan Brown, and Diamond White returning as Kion, Bunga, Ono, Beshte, and Fuli from the television series. Co-stars will include Rob Lowe, Andrew Kishino, Khary Payton, Eden Riegel, David Oyelowo, Christian Slater, Landry Bender, Ana Gasteyer, Bryana Salaz, John O'Hurley, Phil LaMarr, Jacob Guenther, Amber Hood, Gabrielle Union, and Gary Anthony Williams.

On 22 April 2019, following the release of the Season 2 finale "Fire from the Sky", it has been officially confirmed for The Rise of the Roar to be the first installment of the seven films, followed by The Dawn of Zira's Pride, and five untitled sequels in development.

Ahead of the Disney Reborn Multiverse
Following the release of The Lion King Reborn, Walt Disney Animation Studios will release more compilation films based on Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Jungle Book, Lilo & Stitch, Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, The Fox and the Hound, Bambi, The Little Mermaid, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, 101 Dalmatians, Mary Poppins, Fantasia, Winnie the Pooh, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and Inspector Gadget, alongside others in the future. Associated company acts for their films will include Pixar Animation Studios, Lucasfilm Ltd., Marvel Studios, Studio Ghibli, The Jim Henson Company, Blue Sky Studios, and 20th Century Fox.

Attraction
The Lion King 4D Ride is an upcoming 4D dark ride at Disneyland Park.
 * See also: The Lion King 4D Ride 

Videos

 * Main article: The Lion King Reborn/Clips

Trivia

 * During the wildebeest stampede scene, not just only having Simba as a cub being involved, but Timon and Pumbaa also show up in this event.
 * Timon's cracking rival Fred makes a brief cameo with S. Scott Bullock reprising his role from the television series, The Lion King's Timon and Pumbaa.
 * Sarah Hyland and Madison Pettis also have cameo appearances as Kiara's best friends Tiifu and Zuri from The Lion Guard, marking the first time two characters from a Disney television series appear in the first DRM film.
 * Kovu says, "Look out!" to Kiara instead of her to him during their crocodile attack.
 * Fearless Buzz's personality was used for Timon's father from deleted scenes in The Lion King 1½.
 * Rob Minkoff directed the first two Stuart Little films.
 * During the battle of Pride Rock, Pumbaa's war cry to Banzai, " They call me Mister Pig! ", is a reference to the scene in the 1967 film In the Heat of the Night where Sidney Pointier says, " They call me Mister Tibbs! ". For an another reference to classic cinema, Pumbaa's line "Are you talking to me?!" refers to the 1976 film Taxi Driver.
 * Scar's line "You have no idea..." is a reference to the 1990 film Reversal of Fortune. For another, before Scar gets back-kicked by Simba and eaten by his former hyena clan, he says "Now cracks a noble heart. — Good night, sweet prince, and may the kings of the past sing thee to thy rest!". This refers to one of William Shakespeare's works, Hamlet.
 * The film marks as the fourth film of the Lion King franchise.
 * Alfre Woodard had cameos as Miriam Sharpe in the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War and Mariah Dillard in the Netflix series Luke Cage, both media that are part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
 * Angela Bassett, who was originally set to voice Sarabi in the film, also portrayed Queen Ramonda in the 2018 film Black Panther.
 * James Corden auditioned a role for the film as "Mongofu" before scrapped out.
 * Cheech Marin previously voiced Ramone in the Cars franchise.
 * Jonathan Taylor Thomas previously appeared as Randy Taylor on the hit ABC Television sitcom, Home Improvement.
 * Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane previously worked together on the Broadway play and 2005 film The Producers.
 * Broderick has played Inspector Gadget in Disney's 1999 film of the same name.
 * Andy Dick has voiced Boingo in Hoodwinked!.
 * Dick also portrayed Kramer in Disney's 1999 film Inspector Gadget.
 * Ernie Sabella previously performed "Hakuna Matata" at the 1995 Oscars alongside comedian David Alan Grier.
 * Sabella also had a cameo as Maury, the cat pound owner, in Mouse Hunt.
 * Grier also voiced Red in Stuart Little and Moss the Troll in Hoodwinked Too! Hood vs. Evil.
 * Lane is known for voicing the Little Family's house cat Snowbell, and portrayed Ernie Smuntz, the main protagonist in Mouse Hunt.
 * Jason Marsden and Lacey Chabert have voiced Kade Burns, Salvage, and Dani Burns in Transformers: Rescue Bots.
 * Marsden also currently voices Max Goof following the release of 1995's A Goofy Movie.
 * James Earl Jones previously voiced Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise.
 * Jones and the late Robert Guillaume previously appeared in The Meteor Man.
 * Jim Cummings previously voiced Hondo Ohnaka in the Cartoon Network CGI series Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
 * Jones and Cummings later reprised their roles as Vader and Ohnaka in the Disney XD series Star Wars Rebels.
 * Cummings has also done voices for Pooh Bear and Tigger in the Winnie the Pooh franchise; Pete in the Mickey Mouse & Friends series; Razoul and Farouk in the Aladdin franchise; Nessus the River Centaur, Tall Thebian, Elderly Thebian and Lava Titan in Hercules; Fat Cat and Monterey Jack in Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers; Steele in Balto; Chief Powhatan and Kekata in Pocahontas; Marvel Comics villain Thanos in The Super Hero Squad Show; Hernán Cortés in The Road to El Dorado; the Captain of Guards in Shrek; Tantor in Tarzan and Jane; Kaa in The Jungle Book 2; and multiple characters in the Christian video series of Adventures in Odyssey, including Sheriff Walter and Vern.
 * Tress MacNeille currently voices modern Disney character Daisy Duck.
 * MacNeille has also voiced Petunia Rhubarb, Laura Carrot, Junior Asparagus, Madame Blueberry, Tina Celerina, Callie Flower, and Junior's mother Lisa in the Big Idea Entertainment-Netflix series VeggieTales in the House and VeggieTales in the City.
 * Cam Clarke has done the voice of Robert the Terrible, the main antagonist in The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie, and Mikey in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise.
 * Joseph Williams is the son of composer John Williams and a member of the band Toto, best known for their song "Africa".
 * Julie Kavner currently voices Marge Simpson in The Simpsons. Meanwhile, Jones' characters Mufasa, Darth Vader and himself appear in the episode Round Springfield, albeit they were instead voiced by Harry Shearer.
 * Shearer also voiced Dog announcer in 2005's Chicken Little.
 * Jerry Stiller previously voiced Harvey in Planes: Fire & Rescue alongside his late wife Anne Meara as Winnie.
 * Stiller and Nathan Lane previously voiced Pretty Boy and Spot Helperman in the television series Teacher's Pet and its 2004 film, which is the series finale.
 * Jeremy Irons has portrayed DC Comics character Alfred Pennyworth in DC Extended Universe films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Justice League.
 * Whoopi Goldberg previously portrayed Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation.
 * Goldberg currently hosts the show The View.
 * Goldberg also voiced octopus Stretch in Disney / Pixar's Toy Story 3 and Himalayan cat Miss Mittens in Snow Buddies, the second installment of the Buddies films.
 * Amy Sedaris had a voice role as a black-footed ferret named Gravity from Space Buddies. Sedaris later voiced Betty in the 7th and final installment of the franchise, entitled Super Buddies.
 * This marks as one of the final films executive produced by former Pixar director John Lasseter before he left Disney on November 22nd, 2019, concluding with Frozen 2.

Tropes

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Transcript

 * See also: The Lion King Reborn/Transcript

Credits

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Gallery

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