Disney Brings Back James Earl Jones As Mufasa In The Lion King

02/17/2017 08:31 pm EST

Director Jon Favreau continues to work his Disney magic on the studio's live-action remakes, and next up for the talented director is the beloved classic The Lion King.

Favreau announced earlier tonight that Donald Glover has joined the cast as Simba, the would be king. Now he's taken to Twitter to announce that a revered Lion King alum will be joining the growing cast. That would be none other than icon James Earl Jones, who played the voice of Simba's father Mufasa in the animated original.

Favreau tweeted a picture with the caption "Looking forward to working with this legend. #Mufasa", so apparently he will be reprising the role.

In the original film, Mufasa is the king of Pride Rock while his son Simba enjoys a thoroughly peaceful life in the pride lands. His mischevious and jealous brother Scar aims to take the Pride Lands for himself and using Simba as bait, well, essentially Disney crushed thousands of fans hearts because they like to see their fans cry. You can't have Mufasa without Scar, but no word on any casting choices for that part just yet.

Jones recently reprised another of his famous roles in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as Darth Vader, a role he also reprised on Star Wars Rebels.

The Lion King is just the latest live-action remake of their animated catalog, and they've already translated features like Cinderella, Maleficent, Alice and Wonderland, and Pete's Dragon into live-action franchises, with a Maleficent sequel currently in the works. The studio also has the much-anticipated Beauty and the Beast next month, starring Emma Watson in the lead role. Favreau also has a sequel to his immensely successful Jungle Book in the works, which will be shot back to back with The Lion King.

The Lion King live-action remake currently has no release date.

More Disney: Donald Glover Cast As Simba In Live Action Lion King / Lion King & Jungle Book 2 Filming Back to Back / Jon Favreau Reteaming With Disney For The Lion King

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