{"id":1532,"date":"2016-04-10T15:00:53","date_gmt":"2016-04-10T15:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=1532"},"modified":"2016-04-10T15:00:53","modified_gmt":"2016-04-10T15:00:53","slug":"disneys-lion-king-2019-beyonce-donald-glover-john-oliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=1532","title":{"rendered":"Disney\u2019s Lion King 2019: The Most Diverse Cast Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

W<\/span>hat\u2019s better than waking up on a Thursday with the knowledge that there\u2019s only one day to go for the weekend? It\u2019s waking up to the news of the confirmed cast of Disney\u2019s live-action reboot of <\/p>Lion King<\/i>.\n\nAt first glance, the fact that Beyonce is a part of the cast — set to voice Nala, Simba\u2019s childhood friend-turned-love interest — is enough proof that Disney<\/a> has knocked it out of the park. But look further, and you\u2019ll realise that there are enough and more surprises.\n\nDonald Glover, the Emmy-winning star, and creator of the surrealist comedy-drama Atlanta<\/i>, is responsible for bringing Simba to life. It says a lot about a studio that\u2019s putting its weight behind an immensely talented but underrated black actor, instead of a commercially viable star to essay one of the most popular roles in the Disney universe. James Earl Jones will be reprising his role as Mufasa, whom he voiced in the 1994 original. For Scar, Mufasa\u2019s brother and The Lion King\u2019<\/i>s main antagonist, Disney has tapped into the immensely talented Chiwetel Ejiofor, remembered for his role in 12 Years A Slave<\/i>.\n\nDespite the absolute perfectness of the cast, Disney\u2019s biggest triumph is undoubtedly casting John Oliver as the snooty Zuzu, who was voiced by the excellent Rowan Atkinson in the original. The British comedian and host is possibly the only person capable of matching Atkinson\u2019s sass. Seth Rogen plays Pumbaa, and Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari.\n\nIt\u2019s evident that Disney has managed to get together a dream ensemble: One that is not only talented but also ethnically diverse. It wouldn\u2019t have hurt Disney to go down the beaten route and signed an all-white cast of A-listers for the reboot a few years ago when the currency of wokeness wasn\u2019t as dominant as it is now. Even today, most studios get away by bundling ethnic actors only in blink-and-miss supporting roles. But Disney has set an example by assembling what is possibly the coolest cast ever, and putting their money behind the most diverse cast ever.\n\nThey\u2019ve got our vote, for we\u2019re #TeamLionKing2019. Hakuna Matata!\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The reboot of our childhood favourite, helmed by Jon Favreau, boasts of the most politically correct cast.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":1533,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[2752,2753,965,2754,2755,2756,2757,2758,2759],"class_list":["post-1532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-beyonce","tag-donald-glover","tag-john-oliver","tag-jon-favreau","tag-lion-king-2019","tag-mafusa","tag-seth-rogen","tag-simba","tag-the-lion-king"],"yoast_head":"\nDisney\u2019s Lion King 2019: The Most Diverse Cast Ever<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The reboot of our childhood favourite, helmed by Jon Favreau, boasts of the most politically correct cast.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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