Beyonce is the frontrunner to voice Nala in the upcoming remake of The Lion King
Grammy Award-winning artist and actress Beyonce (Dreamgirls) is the frontrunner to voice the role of Nala in Disney‘s upcoming live-action remake of The Lion King, according to Variety. Though she hasn’t accepted the role yet, she is reportedly director Jon Favreau’s first choice to play the lion, first voiced by Moira Kelly (Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me) in the 1994 animated classic, with Sally Dworsky (The Prince of Egypt) providing the singing voice.
The Lion King is the latest in a line of live-action versions of Disney animated classics which include Beauty and the Beast and The Jungle Book. The Lion King cast includes Donald Glover (Community, Atlanta) as the young lion Simba and James Earl Jones (Star Wars) as Mufasa. Jones, of course, did the voice of Mufasa in the 1994 animated film. Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) was the voice of the adult Simba, with Joseph Williams (the band Toto) doing the singing.
In addition to her extensive music career, Beyonce has been critically lauded for her role in the musical film Dreamgirls. She’s also appeared in Austin Powers in Goldmember as Foxxy Cleopatra, Epic where she voiced Queen Tara, and the thriller Obsessed.
ComingSoon.net recently spoke to Favreau about his work on The Jungle Book, during which he told us that he was planning to use VR technology on The Lion King. He explained that there is so much innovation going in for video games since they’re made for consumers. He said that not as much is being done in terms of behind-the-scenes technology for film.
So, what do you think of Beyonce taking on the role of Nala? Who would you like to see play Timon or Pumbaa? What about Scar? Do you want them to get Jeremy Irons (Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice) to do the voice? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or tweet us @comingsoonnet!
(Image Credit: Monty Brinton/CBS via Getty Images)
