We Finally Know Who’s Playing Simba in the Live-Action “Lion King” Remake

Live-action versions of our favorite Disney classics are popping up left and right: there’s the upcoming Beauty and the Beast remake that comes out in March; Mulan and Snow White are in the works; and Emma Stone will play Cruella de Vil in a new 101 Dalmatians. It was also announced recently that The Lion King is getting a live-action makeover, too—and a couple key members of the cast have just been announced. Not gonna lie, it’s looking pretty amazing so far.

First up, there’s one returning cast member that we’re pretty excited about: The movie’s director, Jon Favreau, announced yesterday on Twitter that the legendary James Earl Jones will reprise his role as Mufasa, who he played in the 1994 original animated movie. Jones’ voice is unmistakeable (he also voiced Darth Vader), so the new Lion King would definitely be missing something if he weren’t coming back.

And of course we can’t help but share who’s been cast for Simba: Community star and rapper Donald Glover (A.K.A. Childish Gambino) will play our favorite lion-cub-turned-king.

I just can’t wait to be king. #Simba pic.twitter.com/wUYKixMBJI

— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) February 18, 2017

Looking forward to working with this legend. #Mufasa pic.twitter.com/1LszbWrcYT

— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) February 18, 2017

Favreau also directed the live-action version of The Jungle Book, which grossed almost $1 billion worldwide—so needless to say, we’re expecting some big things.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Favreau first met Glover in December and told him his son is a huge fan of his music and even has a photo of Glover on his bedroom door, which is pretty adorable.

We’ll keep you posted with more casting news (cannot. wait. for Timon and Pumbaa, obviously). In the meantime, we’ll also keep an eye out to see if our Snow White casting predictions come true. ✨