Disney Confirms 'Jungle Book' Director Jon Favreau Is Bringing Back 'The Lion King'

You want a new 'Lion King,' right? Disney heard your wishes and grabbed Jon Favreau to direct it.

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You like The Lion King? Of course you do. Everybody loves The Lion King. But how do you feel about The Jungle Book director Jon Favreau sliding into the director's chair for a "reimagining" of the 1994 classic? Walt Disney Studios confirmed this was indeed a real thing that's actually happening on Wednesday.

"The Lion King builds on Disney's success of reimagining its classics for a contemporary audience with films like Maleficent, Cinderella, and The Jungle Book," Disney said in a press release. Favreau's Lion King will apparently have similar vibes to those found in this year's Beauty and the Beast update. "Like Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King will include songs from the animated film," Disney noted. "Disney and Favreau are also in development on a sequel to The Jungle Book. No release date has been announced for either film."

Favreau's Jungle Book, a live-action and CGI blend inspired by the 1967 original, was a critical and commercial smash upon its release in April. At the time of publication, the film was inching closer to a total global box office haul of $1 billion. The Lion King, of course, long ago made such awesomely huge box office numbers a frequent Disney feat.

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If you're familiar with the rest of Favreau's work, then you'll know that The Lion King is indeed in good hands. Dude has helmed a pair of Iron Man films, the holiday classic Elf, a very good episode of The Office, and the super underrated Chef. Still not down for a new take on Lion King? Step aside. The circle of life, it seems, also includes big-budget reimaginings of '90s classics.

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