The king has returned in the first full trailer for Disney's Lion King remake

The first teaser for Jon Favreau’s Lion King remake (which Disney considers “live-action” even though the animals are computer-generated) was pretty good, focusing on the birth of Simba and a big speech from James Earl Jones, who is returning to voice doomed lion patriarch Mufasa. It was even based around the opening lines from “Circle Of Life,” but—as a proper teaser—it purposefully ended right before the song really kicked in. Now, Disney has shared a real trailer for the film, and it’s as regal as ever.

The embittered Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) may not be the rightful king, but he has the great honor of opening the trailer with his classic, drawling “life’s not fair” line. He and Mufasa (Jones) are two of the very few voices we actually get to hear this time around, with the noticeable absence of Donald Glover. The trailer’s objectives seemingly include showing off the film’s sweet CGI and including enough recognizable moments and iconic imagery from the original animated film to assure hesitant fans that this version will properly fall in line.

Is there singing? A little, but maybe not from who you’d expect. (Because regardless of the medium, Beyonce doesn’t hit the stage until she knows we’re absolutely ready and let’s face it, we’re not.) We are granted a few rounds of “a-weema-weh” from Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogan), which at the very least earns a hearty shoulder bop.

The Lion King takes its place in the circle of life and in theaters July 19.

 
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