'The Lion King' Remake Finds Actors for Sarabi and Rafiki; Beyonce's Participation Still in Negotiations
The cast of the upcoming CGI remake of "The Lion King" is slowly taking shape as it recently added two new actors for the roles of Sarabi and Rafiki. Meanwhile, there are reports that Beyoncé's participation in the film is still under negotiations.
It was recently confirmed that Alfre Woodard would be joining the cast as Simba's mother, Sarabi, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In the animated 1994 "The Lion King" film, Sarabi was voiced by the late Madge Sinclair. Apart from being Simba's mom, Sarabi was also known as the leader of their kingdom's lioness hunting party.
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Woodard has also previously appeared in a Disney-distributed film, "Captain America: Civil War," where she portrayed the role of Miriam Sharpe. Meanwhile, she is also famous for her roles in "12 Years a Slave," "Steel Magnolias," "Memphis Beat" and more.
On the other hand, the role of Rafiki was given to actor John Kani, The Wrap confirmed.
Rafiki is famous for being the wise old mandrill providing Simba some much-needed counselling in the first film. The character is also the shaman of the Pride Lands, thus he was the one seen raising Simba up in the air to present him to the entire kingdom, one of the most iconic scenes of the movie.
Like Woodard, Kani also appeared in "Captain America: Civil War" as T'Chaka, a role that he will reprise in the upcoming "Black Panther" movie next year.
Woodard and Kani join Donald Glover and James Earl John who will take the roles of Simba and Mufasa, respectively.
On the other hand, it was earlier reported that Disney and the movie's production team were hoping to also get Beyoncé play the role of Simba's best friend and love interest, Nala.
The rumor first came up back when Beyoncé was still pregnant with their twins. But now that she is ready to get back working, many are hoping to find her in the list of cast members for the upcoming film.
According to Screen Rant, that is most likely going to happen. They even added that Beyoncé is considering becoming one of the producers of the movie. However, these reports are yet to be confirmed by Destiny and the music star's camp.
"The Lion King" remake is slated to premiere in U.S. theaters on July 19, 2019.
