The Lion King Reborn

"Simba, let me tell you something my father told me…look at the stars. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars." "Really?" "Yes. So, whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will be there to guide you…and so will I."

- Mufasa and Simba

The Lion King: Return of the King is an upcoming American animated epic muscial comedy-drama film released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios, as well as distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It serves a extended version of Disney's well-known animated film The Lion King, conjoining it with its sequels and spin-offs. As the film was directed by Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers and Howy Parkins, produced by Don Hahn, and written by a ensemble group of story writers, it is also the 16th film in the Disney Platinum Universe.

Featuring an alternate score by Ludwig Göransson and Nitin Sawhney, the film includes an ensemble voice cast led by Matthew Broderick as Simba, Jeremy Irons as Taka / Scar, Eden Riegel as Kiara, Nika Futterman as Zira, Gabrielle Union as Nala, Nathan Lane as Timon Berkowitz, Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa Smith, Jason Marsden as Kovu, Blair Underwood as Makuu, Rowan Atkinson as Zazu, Khary Payton as Rafiki, Andy Dick as Nuka, Lacey Chabert as Vitani, Madison Pettis as Zuri, Sarah Hyland as Tiifu, Joshua Rush as Bunga, Diamond White as Fuli, with Angela Bassett as Sarabi, and Max Charles as Kion. The film also dedicates to Suzanne Pleshette and Robert Guillaume, the original voices of Rafiki and Zira, who who died in January 2008 and October 2017. The film tells the story of Simba, a young lion who is to succeed his father, Mufasa, as King of the Pride Lands after his uncle Scar murders his older brother and to challenge Scar to end his tyranny and take his place in the Circle of Life as the rightful King. Later on, it talks about Simba and Nala's children Kiara and Kion as he soon forms a new Lion Guard to protect the Pride Lands.

The film was a major critical and commercial success, receiving reviews from critics, who praised its humor, the cast (particularly Broderick, Irons, and Riegel), visual effects, emotional weight of the story, the dedications for Pleshette and Guillaume, and action scenes (particularly the final battle in the Outlands' volcano). The film is scheduled to be released in YouTube, IMAX 3D and AMC Theaters.

Plot
To be started…

Cast


Son of Queen Sarabi and King Mufasa, who grows up to be king of Pride Rock. Joesph Williams provided the character's singing voice. Jonathan Taylor Thomas and Matt Weinberg voiced Simba as a cub while Jason Weaver provided the cub's singing voice. Mufasa's mischievous younger brother and Simba's uncle, who overtakes the throne. Once defeated by Simba and eaten alive by his hyena henchmen when he tried to pin the blame of Mufasa's death on them, he later becomes a dark spirit in the Outlands' volcano and soon forms an army with banished clans of many animal species (including vultures, skinks, jackals, crocodiles, etc.). He is also Zira's husband and the adoptive father of Kovu. Seth Carr voiced Scar as a cub. Simba and Nala's daughter and princess of Pride Rock. Liz Callaway provided the character's singing voice. Michelle Horn voiced Kiara as a cub with Riegel providing the rest of Horn's lines after learning her voice getting deeper while getting older. Scar's widow and the leader of exiled lion groups named "Outsiders". She is also the mother of Kovu, Nuka and Vitani. Suzanne Pleshette was originally going to voice Zira with archive records from The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, but the character's lines were re-dubbed by Futterman after her death in January 2008. The film dedicates to Pleshette's memory. Simba's best friend later wife as queen of Pride Rock. Union re-dubbed the character's lines that were provided by Moira Kelly. Sally Dworsky provided the character's singing voice. Niketa Calame voiced Nala as a cub while Laura Williams provided the cub's singing voice. A wise-cracking and self-absorbed yet somewhat loyal meerkat, who is the son of his Ma and Pa, nicknamed "Fearless Buzz" and becomes one of Simba's best friends and adoptive parents. Executive producer and The Lion King 1½ producer George A. Mendoza voiced 15-year old Timon in meerkat years. A naïve warthog, who suffers from flatulence and soon becomes Timon's best friend and one of Simba's best friends and adoptive parents. Sabella also made two guest appearances as himself when Pumbaa and Timon watch him on a Walt Disney World message device. On the cameo appearance as himself, Sabella remarked, "It's Hakuna Matata... for a special guest on a animated movie with never-seen live action... Timon and Pumbaa see me as Pumbaa's voice actor! This (just) cracks me up!" The younger son of Zira, who was hand-chosen by Scar to take revenge on Simba. Gene Miller provided the character's singing voice. Ryan O'Donohue voiced Kovu as a cub alongside Marsden, who provided the rest for O'Donohue's lines. A Nile crocodile, who becomes the leader of his float after defeating Pua in a "mashindano" (a fight for dominance in the crocodile float where the winner becomes the new leader of the float and the loser has to leave). A hornbill, who is the the majordomo ("Mufasa's little stooge" as Shenzi calls him) of the Lion King and a jungle administrator. Working for the king, he also gives advises on his morning reports. A wise old mandrill and the shaman of Pride Rock ("Silly blue-bottomed baboon" as Zazu calls him), who presents the new king to the animals. Robert Guillaume was originally going to reprise his voice role from the films, but died on October 2017 as the film dedicates his memory. Denzel Whitaker voiced Rafiki as Ahadi's young apprentice.
 * Matthew Broderick as Simba:
 * Jeremy Irons as Taka / Scar:
 * Eden Riegel as Kiara:
 * Nika Futterman as Zira:
 * Gabrielle Union as Nala:
 * Nathan Lane as Timon Berkowitz:
 * Ernie Sabella as Pumbaa Smith:
 * Jason Marsden as Kovu:
 * Blair Underwood as Makuu:
 * Rowan Atkinson as Zazu:
 * Khary Payton as Rafiki:
 * Andy Dick as Nuka: The older son of Zira, who is the older brother of Kovu and Vitani, and prince of the Outlanders.
 * Lacey Chabert as Vitani: Zira's daughter and Kovu and Nuka's brother, who is princess of the Outsiders.

Timon's caring mother, who is overly protective and attached to her son, often trying to get him accepted amongst the colony, but never succeeding. On her role in this film, Kavner stated "this character is a (teeny) bit close to my character Marge Simpson, only without the bad language to speak to her son Timon. Whether (Nathan) Lane liked me or not, we had a time together as a mother and son moment." Rene Russo voiced 29-year old Ma in meerkat years. Timon's paranoid, eccentric but deep down kind-hearted uncle. Living up to 90 years old, Stiler was cast in to voice a couple of new dialogues for his character and had time to rest while having to have lunch after each day of filming, though after his retirement in 2016. Simba's mother, Mufasa's wife, Kiara and Kion's grandmother and the previous queen of Pride Rock. Bassett re-dubbed the character's lines provided by late actress Madge Sinclair. Simba and Nala's second-born son, Sarabi and Mufasa's grandson, Kiara's younger brother, leader of the Guard and prince of Pride Rock. Charles described his role in the film as "a cameo... you get to be a little more vibrant; a little more irreverent; a little bit more colorful if you want it to be." Jacob Tremblay voiced Kion as a baby.
 * Cheech Marin as Banzai: A Mexican-accented hyena and a member of Scar's chief henchmen, who were first known as predators in Timon's colony.
 * Jim Cummings as Ed: A dim-witted hyena, who does not talk, only communicating through sounds and body language. Cummings also provided additional voices.
 * Whoopi Goldberg as Shenzi: Leader of the hyena clan and is Banzai's mate.
 * Landry Bender as Makini: A young mandrill, who becomes Rafiki's apprentice and the reserve member of the Lion Guard.
 * Maia Mitchell as Jasiri: A hyena cub in the Outlands, who befriends as a reluctant ally with the Guard. Her Resistance of hyenas, including her sister Maoda, respect the Circle of Life.
 * Dusan Brown as Beshte: A hippopotamus, one of Kion's best friends and the strongest member of the Guard.
 * Joshua Rush as Bunga: A honey badger, Kion's best friend, Timon and Pumbaa's adoptive nephew and the bravest member of the Guard, who was taught to his phrase "Zuka Zama". Pierce Gagnon voiced Bunga as a baby.
 * Diamond White as Fuli: A cheetah cub, one of Kion's best friends and the fastest member of the Guard. Quvenzhané Wallis voiced Fuli as a baby.
 * Atticus Shaffer as Ono: A cattle egret, one of Kion's best friends and the keenest of sight of the Guard.
 * Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Rani: A young lioness and leader of the Night Pride.
 * Julie Kavner as Ma:
 * Jerry Stiller as Uncle Max:
 * Angela Bassett as Sarabi:
 * Max Charles as Kion:

Additionally, Ginnifer Goodwin reprises her voice role as Judy Hopps from Zootopia, whose character appears as a hare, while Scott Weinger, Linda Larkin, and Gilbert Gottfried reprise their voice roles as Aladdin, Princess Jasmine, and Iago from the Aladdin film series in a cameo appearance respectfully. Madison Pettis and Sarah Hyland voiced Kiara's friends Zuri and Tiifu while Christian Myers, aka WindowsMyers2018, voiced a new character named Africalous (meaning "Mysterious"), a impoverished leopard in the Night Lands, who, in reality, is the enchant leopard to spy and narrate during the film's climax. James Earl Jones and Kath Soucie voiced Simba's father Mufasa and Nala's mother Sarafina with Atandwa Kani voicing Mufasa as a cub. Sterling K. Brown voiced Ahadi, Scar and Mufasa's father, who appeared in several flashbacks alongside executive producer and The Lion King 1½ director Bradley Raymond as Timon's late father Fearless "Pa" Buzz. Tress MacNeille voiced Tatiana, the princess of the meerkats while S. Scott Bullock voiced Timon's rival Fred. Jeff Bennett voiced the Duke of the meerkat colony while Trevor Devall voiced Iron Joe, a meerkat formerly on Sentry Duty before Timon toke his place. Jason Rudofsky voiced Flinchy, a member in Timon's colony.

C.J. Byrnes voiced Tamaa, a drongo with a talent of imitating thousands of animals, and Ron Funches voiced Ajabu, a shy okapi, who becomes Beshte's best friend and is guided to the Pride Lands. Leaders in the Pride Lands include: Kevin Michael Richardson as Beshte's father Basi, the leader of his hippos; Dee Bradley Baker as Big Baboon, the leader of the baboons; Kevin Schon as Thurston, a zebra and the leader of his herd; Russi Taylor as Mbuni, a ostrich and the leader of her flock; Alex Cartañá as Twiga, a giraffe and the leader of her herd; and American rapper Queen Latifah as Ma Tembo, the leader of her elephant clan. Lynette DuPree was originally going to voice the character, but Latifah re-dubbed her lines as DuPree voiced Mtoto's mother in the theatrical release with Justin Felbinger voicing Mtoto afterwards. Virginia Watson and George Lopez voiced Muhanga and Mugangus, two aardvarks living in the Pride Lands' aardvark termite mounts. Masise Klompus voiced Jasiri's sister Madoa with Fiona Hart and Crimson Hart as hyena cub members Wema and Tunu. The Lion Guard director Howy Parkins voiced Mbeya, a rhinoceros and another wisest animal, who lives in the Pride Lands' waterhole and Gerald C. Rivers voiced Pua, the former leader of the local Nile crocodile float challenged by Makuu. Jennifer Lopez voiced Muhimu, a zebra and leader of her herd, who looks at Bunga as her hero, while Lyons Luke Mathias voiced her son Kwato. Shakira voiced Swala, a gazelle and the leader of her herd. Tunisia Hardison was originally going to voice Swala, but Shakira had interest of re-dubbing the character's lines to make her sound like Gazelle from Zootopia; Hardison later voiced a member in Swala's herd in the theatrical release, although was credited as a additional voice.

Steven Blum had a supporting voice role as Makucha, a stocky, well-built leopard in the Back Lands with incredible agility and physical strength. Dan Howell and Phil Lester voiced Majinuni and Hafifu, two gorilla brothers alongside Welsh actor John Rhys-Davies, who voiced their father King Sokwe. Alfre Woodard, who would soon voice Sarabi in the 2019 remake of The Lion King, voiced Ahadi's mate and Scar and Mufasa's mother Uru. During post-production of the film, there wasn't enough time for the filmmakers to have Uru be in the film's flashbacks. To solve that, they filmed a voice cameo of Woodard as her character during the opening sequence involving the story of Ahadi and baby Scar.

In The Lion King: Return of the King, there are thirty-five speaking animals in the Outlands, who soon form the Army of Scar: Christian Slater as Ushari, a European cobra, who soon becomes leader of the Army; Andrew Kishino as Janja, leader of his hyena clan; Ana Gasteyer as Reieri, leader of the jackals; Common as Kiburi, leader of his float of crocodiles; Greg Ellis as Mzingo, leader of his vulture Parliament; Chris Pratt as Star-Quill, leader of his group of porcupines and Scar's most passive member; Meghan Strange as Shupavu, a sneaky fire skink and leader of the skinks; Adam Driver as Sumu, a venomous scorpion sent to sting Simba; Vargus Mason as Janja's second-in-command Cheezi; Mark Hamill as Janja's third-in-command Chungu; Beau Black as Janja's fourth-in-command Nne, Seth Green as Janja's fifth-in-command Tano; Hynden Walch as Janja's sixth-in-command Mlaria, who is also Janja's ex-girlfriend; Will Arnett as Mzingo's trainer the Lone Gunslinger Vulture, Cam Clarke as Mzingo's second-in-command Mwoga, Rodger Bumpass as Mzingo's third-in-command Twotia, Patrick Pinney as Mzingo's fourth-in-command Zusia; Phil LaMarr as Reieri's mate Goigoi; Jess Harnell as Reirei's son Dogo, with Jacob Guenther voicing the character as a pup, as well as Dogo's brothers; Jenny Slate as Reirei's daughter Kijana, with Amber Hood voicing the character as a pup; Kari Wahlgren, Fred Tatasciore, and Bryce Papenbrook as Zurlia, Hulkri, and Reed, Dogo's teenage siblings; Nolan North as Tamka, a crocodile and member on Kiburi's clan; Bill Hader as Nduli, a crocodile and another member on Kiburi's clan; Tom Kenny as Njano, Shupavu's second-in-command; James Arnold Taylor as Nyeusi, Shupavu's third-in-command; David Kaye as Waza, Shupavu's fourth-in-command; Tara Strong as Dora, Shupavu's fifth-in-command; Bob Bergen as Monty, Shupavu's sixth-in-command; Troy Baker as Luna, Shupavu's seventh-in-command; Kristofer Hivju as Kenge, a monitor lizard; Scott Menville as Kiburi's younger brother Sulvrie; and Bill Fagerbakke as Kenge's older brother Ojono. The Lion Guard developer Ford Riley was originally going to voice Sumu until Driver had interest in voicing the character like Kylo Ren from the Star Wars sequel trilogy films with Riley credited as one of the additional voices. Menville was also originally going to voice Tano, but then changed to voice a Sulvrie instead, leading Green to voice him in the theatrical release.

Amy Poehler voiced Kinyonga, a Pride Lander chameleon, who changes into different colors respectfully, while McKenna Grace, Jacquez Swanigan, and Collin Dean voiced Kambuni, Gumba, and Shauku, Mtoto's best friends, who like to act as the Lion Guard. Charlie Adler voiced Mjomba, a aardwolf and leader of his clan alongside Marieve Herington and Ogie Banks as members Ogopa and Haya. Nick Watt and Ben Pronsky voiced Zito and Johari, who are two members in Ma Tembo's clan, and Grey DeLisle-Griffin voiced Laini, a galago, who sometimes gets easily spooked, but gets help the Lion Guard. Jack McBrayer voiced Badili, a friendly leopard in the Back Lands alongside Jorge Diaz as Badili's bully Mapigano. Sinbad voiced Uroho, a thieving, conniving baboon, who excels in feigning pleasantness and charm, and C. C. H. Pounder voiced Kongwe, a wisest tortoise in the Dry Lands. The Lion Guard developer Ford Riley and song writer Elton John voiced Mwevi and Mwizi, who are members of the Traveling Baboon Show. Moira Kelly, who was originally going to reprise her voice role as Nala in The Lion King films, and Erica Luttrell voiced several Outsider lionesses named Saow and Lionsia, and Jason Lee alongside Brad Bird have uncredited voice cameos reprising their roles as Buddy Pine / Syndrome and Edna Mode from The Incredibles series in the post-credits scene.

Release
The film is expected to be release sometime in 2018. It was originally planned to be released in summer of 2017, known as The Lion King: The Special Edition Cut. It is to be rated PG for mild rude humor, action and peril. Christan Myers, who would soon voiced Africalous, came on board to tie in the films on Movie Maker. However, in April 2018, the film's title would then be changed to The Lion King: The King Has Returned with the Lion Guard confirmed. On May, the film's title was changed again to its official title: The Lion King: Return of the King. A teaser trailer will be released soon.

Casting
In February 2018, it was confirmed that Matthew Broderick, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matt Weinberg, Nathan Lane, Kevin Schon, Ernie Sabella, Nancy Cartwright, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Moira Kelly, Niketa Calame, Rowan Atkinson, Edward Hibbert, Tress MacNeille, Jeff Bennett, S. Scott Bullock, Julie Kavner, Jerry Stiller, Jason Rudofsky, Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin, Jim Cummings, Tara Strong, Frank Welker, Corey Burton, Neve Campbell, Michelle Horn, Jason Marsden, Ryan O'Donohue, Andy Dick, and Lacey Chabert would reprise their roles as Simba, Timon, Pumbaa, Pumbaa Jr., Scar, Mufasa, Nala, Zazu, Tatiana, the Duke Meerkat, Fred, Ma, Uncle Max, Flinchy, Shenzi, Banzai, Ed, Claudia, King Leopard, Quint, Kiara, Kovu, Nuka, and young Vitani from the films and the TV series Timon & Pumbaa, with archive recordings of Robert Guillaume, Madge Sinclair, Zoe Leader, Suzanne Pleshette, and Jennifer Lien as Rafiki, Sarabi, Sarafina, Zira, and adult Vitani, respectively.

A month later in March, it was confirmed that Sarah Silverman would reprise her role as Vanellope von Schweetz from Wreck-it-Ralph, where the character would be dressed as Pumbaa. It was also announced that Sarah Hyland, Madison Pettis, Andrew Kishino, and Vargus Mason would reprise their roles as Tiifu, Zuri, Janja, and Cheezi from The Lion Guard with Schon cast as Chungu. Carl Lumbly was also casted as Ahadi, Scar and Mufasa's father. However, the next month in April, she was taken out, having not any dialogue written out yet; also, Pumbaa Jr., Claudia, King Leopard, and Quint's scenes would be taken out, and since Lien has been arrested in 2015, Chabert re-dubbed her lines as adult Vitani, and Hibbert's lines as Zazu were re-dubbed by Atkinson.

In May 2018, it was announced that Max Charles, Joshua Rush, Dusan Brown, Atticus Shaffer, Diamond White, Landry Bender, Maia Mitchell, Masise Klompus, Blair Underwood, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Greg Ellis, Kristofer Hivju, Christian Slater, Ford Riley, Ana Gasteyer, Phil LaMarr, Jacob Guenther, Justin Felbinger, Meghan Strange, Common, Nolan North, Jorge Diaz, Lynette DuPree, Phil Lester, Dan Howell, John Rhys-Davis, C. C. H. Pounder, and Cam Clarke would reprise their roles as Kion, Bunga, Beshte, Ono, Fuli, Makini, Jasiri, Madoa, Makuu, Rani, Mzingo, Kenge, Ushari, Sumu, Reirei, Goigoi, Dogo, Mtoto, Shupavu, Kiburi, Tamka, Nduli, Ma Tembo, Hafifu, Majinuni, King Sokwe, Kongwe, and Mwoga from The Lion Guard with Sterling K. Brown re-dubbing Ahadi's lines after Lumbly had some time with some of his upcoming projects. A month later, the rest of the cast was confirmed, including Amber Hood, Sinbad, Steven Blum, Jack McBrayer, Charlie Adler, Marieve Herington, Ogie Banks, Beau Black, Fiona Hart, and Crimson Hart as Kijana, Uroho, Makucha, Badili, Mjomba, Ogopa, Haya, Nne, Wema, and Tunu. A couple of days later, multiple actors would re-dubbed some of the main characters' lines including Eden Riegel, Nika Futterman, Gabrielle Union, Khary Payton, Angela Bassett, Queen Latifah, Mark Hamill, Trevor Devall, Adam Driver, Seth Green, Grey DeLisle-Griffin, Kath Soucie, George Lopez, and Bill Hader as Kiara, Zira, Nala, Rafiki, Sarabi, Ma Tembo, Chungu, Iron Joe, Sumu, Tano, Laini, Sarafina, Mugangus, and Nduli; Kelly, who originally voiced Nala, provided a additional voice as a minor Outsider lioness named Saow.

Critical response
The Lion King: Return of the King was released to critical acclaim. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of "Certified Fresh" 100%, based on 1,504 reviews, with an average rating of 9.5 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The Lion King: Return of the King ably juggles a dizzying array of Disney heroes in the fight against their gravest threat yet, and the result is a thrilling, emotionally resonant blockbuster that (mostly) realizes its gargantuan ambitions. With a huge (excellent) choice of well-known actors, your families will enjoy this movie over-and-over again." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 94 out of 100, based on 749 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". CinemaScore reported that audiences gave the film a rare "A+" grade. IMDb holds a score of 8.8/10.

Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "The actors are all seen to very good advantage. Broderick certainly holds his own, but there are quite a few charismatic supporting players here keen to steal every scene they can – and they do, notably the physically imposing Irons, the radiant Union and especially Riegel, who gives her every scene extra punch and humor." Peter Debruge of Variety said, "The Lion King: Return of the King celebrates its hero's heritage while delivering one of Disney's most all-around appealing standalone installments to date." Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called The Lion King: Return of the King "a jolt of a movie", and said, "in its emphasis on black imagination, creation and liberation, the movie becomes an emblem of a past that was denied and a future that feels very present. And in doing so opens up its world, and yours, beautifully." Kenneth Turan of Los Angeles Times said, "With dialogue that deftly explores serious questions, such as how much if anything do wealthy countries owe the poor and oppressed of the world, The Lion King: Return of the King draws energy from Minkoff's sense of excitement at all he's attempting. The result is a superhero movie that's worth seeing twice, and that is a rare sighting indeed." Richard Roeper, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, called the film "one of the best African movies of the century" and said, "If you appreciate finely honed storytelling with a Shakespearean core; winning performances from an enormously talented ensemble; provocative premises touching on isolationism, revolution and cultures of oppression, and tons of whiz-bang action sequences and good humor – then you should see the king has returned."

Trivia

 * The segments that are included in the movie are films The Lion King, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, The Lion King 1½, Return of the Roar, The Rise of Scar, and Timon & Pumbaa episodes Once Upon a Timon, Zazu's Off-by-One Day, and Tanzania Zany, as well as a multiple episodes of The Lion Guard.

Differences

 * All three movies are lowered-pitched from 100x to 97x after for a couple of young fans, who don't like the normal pitch.

Soundtrack
Main article: The Lion King: Return of the King/Soundtrack

Transcript
Main article: The Lion King: Return of the King/Transcript

Credits
Main article: The Lion King: Return of the King/Credits

Poll
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