LOS ANGELES, April 27 — American actor Seth Rogen will lend his voice to the new adaptation of the animated classic currently in the works at Disney with director Jon Favreau, reports Variety.

Rogen — who has previously voiced characters in Kung Fu Panda, Sausage Party and Monsters vs. Aliens — has been signed up to voice Timon, a young wisecracking meerkat who’s friends with Simba.

The actor will take over from Nathan Lane (The Good Wife) who voiced the character in the original animated movie.

Timon’s sidekick Pumbaa the warthog will be voiced by Billy Eichner of Parks and Recreation.

The pair join Donald Glover (Atlanta), recruited to voice the lead character Simba, and James Earl Jones, who returns to voice Mufasa, as in the original. Singer Beyoncé is reportedly showing interest in the role of Nala.

The motion-capture Lion King remake from Jon Favreau — who previously remade Disney’s The Jungle Book — is slated for release July 19, 2019, 25 years after the original, which went on to become one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time, ultimately taking US$968.5 million (RM4.2 billion) worldwide.

The remake takes the release slot originally held by Indiana Jones 5, initially slated to open July 19, 2019, but delayed until 2020. — AFP-Relaxnews