The Lion King is getting a live-action adaptation directed by Jon Favreau

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There are few things Disney loves more than a live-action adaptation of one of their animated classics; Cinderella, Pete's Dragon, and The Jungle Book have all  gotten the treatment recently, and Beauty in the Beast is on its way next year. 

As such, it was almost inevitable that they'd get round to The Lion King sooner or later, and today Disney have announced that Jon Favreau will direct "a new reimagining" of the 1994 classic that "will include songs from the animated film". The press release also notes that Favreau and Disney are working on a sequel to The Jungle Book, which was critically acclaimed and grossed nearly $1 billion at the box office earlier this year.

Actually, a look at the facts and figures for Disney's recent live-action adaptations reveals that almost all of them were well-received, but whether it's because of The Lion King's status as one of Disney's most beloved films, or because there's no human characters in the story - effectively meaning the film will likely be 100% CGI - the reaction to this announcement seems to be mixed.

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As someone who really enjoyed Favreau's version of The Jungle Book I think the director has more than earned the benefit of the doubt, and I'm intrigued to see how he brings The Lion King to life.

Images: Disney

Amon Warmann
Amon Warmann

Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.