Days after it was announced that Shah Rukh Khan and son Aryan would dub the characters of Mufasa and Simba in Disney's upcoming live action version of The Lion King, the remaining voice cast has been revealed. In a tweet on Friday, trade analyst Taran Adarsh listed Ashish Vidyarthi as the villainous lion Scar, Shreyas Talpade and Sanjay Mishra as Simba's pals the meerkat Timon and the warthog Pumbaa, and veteran comedian Asrani as Zazu, a hornbill and advisor to the lion king - which is Mufasa when the story begins, Scar after he tricks Mufasa into his death, and finally Simba when he returns to claim his throne and challenge the pretender.
Chiwetel Ejiofor, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen and John Oliver voice Scar, Timon, Pumbaa and Zazu respectively in the live action film. The cast is headed by Donald Glover as Simba; James Earl Jones reprises his role as Mufasa from the original cast; Beyonce is cast as Simba's love interest Nala.
See Taran Adarsh's tweet here:
After #SRK and #AryanKhan, Disney India announces powerhouse actors to voice for #TheLionKing in HINDI...
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) June 21, 2019
* Ashish Vidyarthi is Scar
* Shreyas Talpade is Timon
* Sanjay Mishra is Pumbaa
* Asrani is Zazu
19 July 2019 release in #English, #Hindi, #Tamil and #Telugu. pic.twitter.com/69S5nrRSPR
There was much ado, not all of it complimentary, earlier this week when Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan were revealed as Mufasa and Simba; the casting of the inexperienced Aryan in the lead role - he dubbed for the character of Dash in The Incredibles many years ago and SRK voiced Mr Incredible - caused some grumbling and complaints of nepotism.
Shah Rukh Khan declared himself thrilled to be working alongside his 'own Simba,' posting on his social media:
Glad to be a part of this journey... a timeless film. Voicing it in Hindi with my own Simba. The last time we did a film was around 15 years ago and it was 'Incredible' and this time around its even more fun. Hope everyone enjoys it 19th July onwards. #TheLionKing https://t.co/rJEfxevA9k
— Shah Rukh Khan (@iamsrk) June 17, 2019
The original animated Lion King was a smash hit in 1994 and was later made into an equally successful stage musical. Apart from James Earl Jones, the impressive cast included Matthew Broderick as Simba, Jeremy Irons as Scar, Rowan Atkinson as Zazu, Nathan Lane as Pumbaa and Whoopi Goldberg as one of the hyenas.
