In 1994, children were awed by the release of Disney’s The Lion King . The tragic story of Simba’s loss, the guilt he lived with for years over his father’s death, and his eventual redemption when his old friend from the past reappeared in his life and reminded him who he is has had audiences enthralled for over 20 years.
As a result, a generation of 20-something-year-olds is ecstatic over the upcoming release of a live-action remake of the beloved animation being released in 2019. The trailer for the new film, released just last month, seemed to show almost identical scenes from the original film in the new adaptation. Nearly shot-for-shot, the trailer seems to almost exactly mirror scenes in the animated film. While some fans were excited about this, others seemed slightly disappointed that it would be the same movie.
According to chief architect of Disney’s live-action film studio Sean Bailey, however, fans shouldn’t be too concerned that the new film will copy the old one scene-for-scene. As reported by IGN , Bailey has assured fans there will be something new brought to the table by the 2019 version of the classic.
“ The Lion King is a revered and beloved movie,” Bailey said. “So you’d better revere and love those parts that the audience wants. But there are things in the movie that are going to be new.”
Disney’s new take on The Lion King will not be a shot-for-shot remake of the original. https://t.co/ZdTKeSEsZs pic.twitter.com/GH7RAlvcWS
— IGN (@IGN) December 27, 2018
Aside from his assurance that the film will have a different story to it, Bailey remained mum on what changes are being made in the new movie. Fans will have to wait patiently for any more information, likely until the film is actually released in July 2019.
Bailey did also speak up to comment on whether the film can really be considered live-action, or whether it is actually still animation.
“[And] it is a new form of filmmaking. Historical definitions don’t work. It uses some techniques that would traditionally be called animation, and other techniques that would traditionally be called live action. It is an evolution of the technology Jon used in Jungle Book .”
Regardless of whatever form of filmmaking it is considered to be, fans are eagerly awaiting its release to see what has been done with it, and it will likely be worth the wait.
Cast on the new film includes the likes of Donald Glover, the return of James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Beyonce, and TV personality John Oliver.
