Jon Favreau to Direct New ‘Lion King’ Film

The Jungle Book director Jon Favreau is to direct a new version of Disney classic The Lion King.

After the success of his remake of The Jungle Book earlier this year, bosses at the studio confirmed on Thursday that Favreau will also take the reins on the reimagining of another beloved animated Disney film.

The Jungle Book took in just shy of $1 billion in cinemas around the world and the movie won critical acclaim with its mix of live-action and computer generated animals and landscapes.

Announcing news about the revamped Lion King in a statement, a Disney spokesman writes, “We can officially confirm that The Walt Disney Studios and director Jon Favreau are putting a new reimagining of The Lion King on the fast track to production.”

The announcement came after Favreau teased the news on Twitter, writing, “Excited for my next project” alongside lion and crown emojis.

Excited for my next project 🦁👑

— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) September 28, 2016

It was also confirmed that the remake would feature songs from the 1994 animated hit, which earned Hans Zimmer and Elton John an Academy Award for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, respectively. Sir John shared that award with lyricist Sir Tim Rice for their ballad “Can You Feel The Love Tonight?”

Also in the Disney pipeline is a live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson as Belle, which will debut next year, and a sequel to The Jungle Book, which Favreau will also direct.

Neither The Jungle Book follow-up or The Lion King remake have yet to receive a release date.