Comedian John Oliver Joins Upcoming Disney Remake of THE LION KING

Today it was announced that comedian Jon Oliver would be joining the cast of the upcoming live-action remake of Disney's The Lion King in the role of Zazu.

Oliver joins a cast that already includes, Donald Glover as Simba. James Earl Jones as Mufasa, and Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner as sidekicks Timon and Pumbaa,

Oliver is an Emmy Award-winning comedian and writer, best known for his work on his weekly HBO news show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

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, Beauty and the Beast, and The Jungle Book. 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.

Image courtesy of HBO.

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