For many kids who grew up in the 90s, The Lion King will always be one of the movies ever made, and a stonking good adaptation of Hamlet as well.
However, with Disney now set on remaking their flagship features in live-action, there was one question on the lips of every fan of the original: "Does this mean we'll get a live-action version of The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride?"
Take a look at the trailer for the live-action version of the first Lion King:So there's good news and bad news. The good news is that, according to a recent report by Deadline, The Lion King remake performed well enough at the box office that Disney is now working on a sequel. The bad news is that it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the original animated sequel in terms of plot.
According to Deadline, the story is set to delve deeper into the backstory of some characters, such as Mufasa's, and is going to be directed by the Oscar-winning Barry Jenkins.
Meanwhile, Jenkins' partner, fellow-director Lulu Wang, posted a video of their adorable dog posing as Simba on Twitter:
Commenting in the project in an official statement, Jenkins said:
"Helping my sister raise two young boys during the '90s, I grew up with these characters. Having the opportunity to work with Disney on expanding this magnificent tale of friendship, love and legacy while furthering my work chronicling the lives and souls of folk within the African diaspora is a dream come true."
You might not have heard of it before, but the original Lion King movie did actually get a sequel of its own, in the form of a direct-to-video title that drew inspiration from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Set more after the end of the first film, the animated movie followed the adventures of Simba's daughter Kiara, who falls in love with Kovu, a banished lion who was groomed by his mother to serve as the successor to Scar, while Simba's mistrust of his uncle's protege leads to conflict between father and daughter.