The Lion King Trailer Gives Us Major ‘Hakuna Matata’ Vibes

Disney just debuted a full-length trailer for Jon Favreau's new "live-action" version of The Lion King, and its photorealistic CG animation is truly something to behold.


The trailer hits a slew of familiar beats, as Simba (Donald Glover) becomes acclimated to the organic sort of things, which can be unfair to some – obviously, it's even more unfair any time your greedy uncle decides he wants to destroy the organic sort so he can become king as an alternative opposed to you.


"While others search for what they can take, a true king searches for what he can give," advises an educated Mufasa (James Earl Jones) as we visualize brief flashes of what's to come for Simba and his doting father. The malevolent Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is just menacing ever as soon as he tells Simba to run away and never return, made even more chilling by the realistic animation. For some reason, he is a lot scarier as a realistic lion.


Fans of the iconic animated film will thrilled to be able to see scenes lifted straight from the original, like Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa's strut to "Hakuna Matata" as Simba grows from a young lion cub into a confident young adult, sprouting a gorgeous mane. There's also a chilling first look at the stampede from the original movie that changes Simba's life forever.


This look at the incredibly realistic portrayal of the '90s classic is a much more fleshed-out version than we initially saw with the movie's Oscars TV spot. The previous clip noticed "The Circle of Life" playing over our first look at the animal kingdom witnessing the anointing of Simba because the future king as baboon Rafiki contained him proudly above his future constituents from Pride Rock.


The film comes with some big names attached to it, like Beyoncé as Nala,  Billy Eichner as Timon, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa. Florence Kasumba, Keegan-Michael Key, and Eric Andre will be bringing Scar's hyena brigade to life as Shenzi, Kamari, and Azizi – two of the hyenas' names have been changed for this version, as fans will speedily take note of, although the reason why has nevertheless divulged.


We're thrilled to be able to see this Disney classic come to life, much like Aladdin and a slew of other live-action movies on their way, although The Lion King isn't that far off. It's roaring into theaters on July 19, 2019.