Everything We All Need to See in Disney's Remake of 'The Lion King'

It's officially 2019, which can only mean one thing:

THE LION KING REMAKE COMES OUT THIS YEAR!!!!!

With the excitement of the upcoming adaptation, I thought it would be essential to note down what we want from one of the most iconic and anticipated remakes of the decade.

Loyal fans and new viewers will see this film alike, so below are very important points which would make this movie even more epic than the original.

1. Do not mirror the entire 1994 original film.

The Lion King trailer for the 2019 remake depicts the opening for the 1994 film, a classic sequence, The Circle of Life. It's an iconic piece of film, said to be one of Disney's greatest achievements, and the new trailer shows just how similar the remake is going to look, albeit with much more advanced animated technology.

I can deal with this. Certain parts of the film, key moments like the opening, and when Simba finally takes his place on Pride Rock as the rightful king, I think should potentially mirror the original cartoon. But the new Lion King definitely shouldn't just be an updated copy. If it is, it'll be a huge disappointment for the fans.

Luckily, we have director Jon Favreau on our hands, who is no stranger to remaking classic Disney movies. His 2016 adaptation of The Jungle Book was a hit, grossing nearly $1 billion worldwide. He kept some parts of the film similar to the original, but a lot of it added new dimensions, and thickened the iconic plot we already loved.

Hopefully, with The Lion King, Favreau can adapt the 2019 version so that we encounter things we haven't witnessed before within this beloved tale. If we just screen for screen what we've seen before, then what's the point in it at all?

2. Give us new songs we can sing to forever.

One thing this family favourite is known for is its music, and I don't just mean the songs we can all sing along to. The Lion King's score was also award winning, thanks to Hans Zimmer.

Luckily, Hans Zimmer, as well as Tim Rice and Elton John, who co-wrote all of the original songs in the 1994 movie, are returning for the remake. They're also keeping four of the iconic songs in the 2019 version, with a newer twist: Circle of Life, Just Can't Wait to Be King, Hakuna Matata, and Can You Feel The Love Tonight.

Only Be Prepared has been cut as far as we're aware with the music, but we're not sure where Zimmer stands with the score. Though the background music we adore like This Land and King of Pride Rock (look them up if you don't know them—trust me) are bound to make a reappearance in the film, it will be great to see Hans Zimmer create even more incredible, mood-creating, goosebump-inducing tracks to take the story along.

What's more exciting, though, is the promise of new songs we can sing along to. It's already been announced that Elton John and Tim Rice are teaming up with Beyonce, who will voice Nala, to create a hit for the movie, but it would be perfect to see some more new songs take over our lives.

They could even take inspiration from the ridiculously successful musical... but we'll get to that later.

3. Give us a Donald Glover solo, or at least more Simba singing than before.

The stars brought in for The Lion King remake are astronomical, but most exciting for me is Donald Glover as the film's main protagonist, Simba. Glover is known to dabble in many sectors of the entertainment world, whether as Donald Glover the actor and comedian, as mcDJ the DJ, or as Childish Gambino the rapper.

In the 2019 movie, I want both the actor and the rapper. Well, more specifically, the singer, because boy, can he sing.

Surprisingly, despite being the hero of The Lion King, adult Simba hardly sings at all. He has one solo line in Hakuna Matata, though admittedly does sing the chorus, and has four lines in Can You Feel The Love Tonight? and the chorus of that isn't sung by either Simba or Nala.

In this adaption, we need more Simba! Singing Simba is 100 percent something the makers need to consider, and would add much more depth to the character, who we don't actually see much of before he returns to the Pridelands. With Glover in the picture, this would be a perfect addition to the film.

4. Make sure 'He Lives In You' is part of the soundtrack.

So. Like I said. The music is everything.

He Lives In You, quite simply, needs to be in the 2019 film and I will call a revolt if it is not.

Though The Lion King and its subsequent franchise thereafter has produced epic songs, this one has to be one of my favourites, and possibly the best one. It features at the beginning of the home video sequel The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, as well as in the hit musical, at the pinnacle moment where Simba sees Mufasa in the sky.

The track, performed and written by Lebo M, who also sung on the opening sequence of the original The Lion King, the magical Circle of Life, has created a masterpiece. The song displays huge emotion about grief and coming to terms with one's responsibility.

It would be a pinnacle and spectacular moment for Simba as he grieves over Mufasa and realises he must return to Pride Rock. Honestly, the movie needs to raise awareness of this magical number. Even if it's only in the credits (though it deserves so much more) the new 2019 The Lion King simply needs He Lives in You.

5. Timon and Pumbaa need more jokes to keep them as fan favourites.

Our favourite on-screen duo, Timon and Pumbaa, proudly taught us the meaning of Hakuna Matata. They bring light upon the 1994 movie, and even though they only appear in the second half of the film, they leave a huge impact on the audience.

Why? Maybe because they both feature in two of the most iconic songs in Disney history (much more than Simba, to say the least). But mostly because they're hilarious.

The unlikely pair are comedic relief in an emotional time in Simba's life, and their jokes are a classic. But the problem with classics is that they can't just be repeated... they have to be expanded.

Luckily, in the new Lion King coming this year, the dynamic duo have two hilarious comedy stars coming in to put their own spin on the legendary characters. Pumbaa will be played by Seth Rogen, and Timon is being voiced by Billy Eichner. Though they have big shoes to fill, I have no doubts, and no worries (hey, Hakuna Matata, am I right?) that these two will expand on the legacy that Timon and Pumbaa bring to the franchise.

As long as we have more jokes like "What's a motto? / Nothing! What's a motto with you?" and "Kid, what's eating you? / Nothing! He's at the top of the food chain," I think we'll all be okay.

6. Give us more Nala... now.

If we get anything in 2019, please give us more of the Queen of Pride Rock. With the original movie being only 88 minutes long (and over five minutes of that are the credits), Disney has a lot of room to expand on the original story, with most movies nowadays averaging over two hours. With a movie with this much anticipation and so much magnitude, we can imagine this would be a big one to hit the two hour mark, if not more. That's an extra 20 minutes (hopefully at least) of additional story time and development.

Please, PLEASE, let that consist of super fierce lioness Nala, whose adult life on screen in 1994 only plays as the love interest for Simba. Although, in the original, she does have one of the best lines in the whole run time:

Simba: You know, you're starting to sound like my father. Nala: Good. At least one of us does.

FIERCE QUEEN!

In the musical, Nala fights her way away from Scar and goes off on her own to find food and safety for her pride, thus discovering Simba. Even in the original movie, she is shown to overpower Simba twice! Once as a cub, and again as an adult. And still, though it is symbolic, the final fight is a claw match between Simba and Scar. I just need to see Nala conquer some hyenas, bare some teeth, anything. She deserves more than to just be a way Simba finds his way home.

Plus, she's being voiced by Beyonce, a LITERAL queen. Give us more Nala. We all need more Nala in our lives.

7. Scar's reign as King needs more screen time than the original film.

One of the most important parts of the plot in The Lion King is Scar usurping Mufasa's throne and telling the lionesses Simba also perished with his father, thus making him the king. We know his alliance with the hyenas leads them to take over Pride Rock, and we know that his careless power leads all the prey to move territories... but we don't actually see any of this.

In the new adaptation, I'd love to see Scar's decline, and love to see Nala and Sarabi and the lionesses struggle under his reign, argue with his methods, and clash heads with the hyenas. Disney has a chance here, like it did with The Jungle Book, to make the colourful cartoon into a slightly darker triumph. It could show lions actually be lions, hyenas be a bigger threat, and show some fighting other than the final showdown. It would add suspense and a whole other plot point that would keep the audience gripped in a way the 1994 version didn't. Let's see the destruction of the Pride Lands. It'd only make us root for Simba's return even more.

8. Scar also needs an emotional backstory ASAP.

Furthermore, let's not forget about the arguably most important character in the franchise. As well as his reign as king, I also want a more in depth look into Scar himself.

Interestingly, Disney have released a series of short stories surrounding The Lion King. In one called A Tale of Two Brothers, it is revealed that Scar's name is actually Taka, and as an adolescent was jealous of Mufasa and the way their father preferred the older lion. Trying to trick Mufasa, Scar was injured by none other than a wildebeest, thus giving him the famous scar, which made him rename himself in shame for what he had done.

Disney's TV show, The Lion Guard, also shows a young Scar with the power of the Elders, and a responsibility of the Pridelands which is bestowed on the second born, but they are ripped away from him when he doesn't use those powers properly. Due to the magical element of this latter story, it seems very unlikely that Disney would even incorporate this into the final story of the 2019 film. However, both these tales put a different spin on the villain we know.

The film shouldn't particularly show a flashback scene of Scar, but should add some more depth to his character and background, even if it's a simple conversation with Mufasa near the beginning of the movie. Scar's so infamous that these added details, even if they're only small, would shock the audience and perhaps change their opinions on the lion.

The thing is, everyone always loves to love a villain.

9. With new animation, the hyenas should be much more sinister.

With CGI changing the way viewers watch animation, Disney has the opportunity to really spin the original tale. The hyenas, out of everything in the original 1994 movie, probably had the most critics, and were bashed because of their negative ideologies, which could be related to negative race stereotypes. Disney could easily change this.

In the 2019 version, the cast is much more suited to its origins, with only Timon, Pumbaa, and Zazu of the main cast being white voice actors. This is probably a strong start to the negative feedback the hyenas received, but if we're going to be real here, the hyenas should be portrayed much darker in the upcoming remake.

The 1994 version sees the main trio as dumb, stupid, easily pleased and entertained, probably to highlight that Scar is the true villain. However, this doesn't need to be the case. The film already has comic relief with Zazu, and Timon and Pumbaa. They certainly don't need it here, with characters they can make much darker and much more interesting, adding huge suspense to the plot.

It already looks like changes have been made to the main trio. Though matriarch of the hyena clan, Shenzi, keeps her original name, the males Banzai and Ed have received new names: Azizi and Kamari. These names hint that the roles will be much more serious, so it'd be interesting to see which route the filmmakers take with the hyenas. Hopefully, something much more sinister than we've seen before.

Annnnddd 10. Mufasa doesn't die.

Just kidding.

I mean, we'd all love this, but unfortunately, it's a pivotal part of the movie and it wouldn't make sense without it.

I just don't want to watch it again. We should all mentally prepare ourselves now.

The Real 10. Everything we love about 'The Lion King' remains as it should.

After all, The Lion King is one of the best and most iconic films Disney has ever produced. The 2019 trailer being released caused a huge out-pour of praise on social media, and it quickly went viral.

Though changes should be made in the remake, at the heart of the film should be the things we all love about the film: beautiful visuals, incredible music, noteworthy characters, and mixture of heart-wrenching emotion and smile-inducing fun.

Good luck, Disney. I can't wait to see it.