Academy Award nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor is in talks to join the cast of Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of The Lion King.

If a deal is a reached, Ejiofor would take on the role of Scar, the film’s villain. Scar is the not-so-popular brother of the king, Mufasa, and the uncle to Mufasa’s son and future king, Simba.

Ejiofor is known for his roles in Love Actually, the Firefly follow-up movie Serenity, Children of Men, The Martian, Doctor Strange, and 12 Years A Slave, for which he received the aforementioned Oscar nomination, among others.

Jeremy Irons and his distinctive voice played the role of Scar in Disney’s original Lion King. A performance that will be tough to top.

Ejiofor would join a cast that so far includes fellow Martian co-star Donald Glover, who is set to play Simba; Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner, who are voicing Timon and Pumbaa; John Oliver, who’s playing Zazu; and one voice from the original animated classic that was too distinctive to even attempt replacing, James Earl Jones, who will once again voice Mufasa.

The Jungle Book director Jon Favreau will deliver his second Disney live-action remake with The Lion King. The movie is currently scheduled for a July 19, 2019 release.

Click right here for much more on The Lion King, including a description of the first footage from the movie shown at the recent D23 Expo.

[Source: The Wrap]

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