The Lion King Won't Be A Shot-For-Shot Remake

The Lion King Won’t Be A Shot-For-Shot Remake

If the trailer for Disney’s upcoming live-action The Lion King could be described as anything, it would definitely be ‘familiar’. It was basically a more realistic remake of the original 2D-animated 1994 film. Understandably, this has had some fans worried.

However, those worrying we’re just seeing a high-definition rehash can rest easy. Film Production chief for The Lion King remake, Sean Bailey, challenged the assumption in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

“The Lion King is a revered and beloved movie, 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,” Bailey claimed.

Well, that’s a relief!

He then went on to talk about the film’s unique blend of live-action and 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.”

The live-action Jungle Book adaptation was notable for its mixture of live-action and CGI animation. So, if it’s an evolution of that technology, then The Lion King is sure to be interesting.

Given that Disney has almost remade all of its ‘A-List’ classics, from Beauty and the Beast to Aladdin, Bailey was asked where the company would go from there in terms of movies. In response, he gave Maleficient as an example of where the studios could go next.

“I don’t know, because we might hear something that excites us. Take Maleficent. She was a character who cursed a baby because she didn’t get an invitation to a party, and we thought, “This is interesting.” We made a movie, and now we are making another movie. We will continue to play around in ways that I hope are interesting and unexpected.”

A movie about Captain Hook, perhaps?

The Lion King is scheduled for release on July 25th, 2019 – the 25th anniversary of the original film. We will cover new info on the film as it comes.