'The Lion King' Character Posters Sure Look Like Pictures Of Animals

Oh yes, it's a lion. That's not just the translation of the opening Zulu lyrics from "The Circle of Life," but that's really the only reaction you can have to new The Lion King character posters recently released by Disney. The House of Mouse has released the character posters for Jon Favreau's CG remake of the 1994 beloved animated classic, and if it weren't for the bold lettering proclaiming the stars voicing the photorealistic animal characters, you could easily mistake these posters as stills from a National Geographic special.

These character posters give us an up close look at the characters of the highly anticipated The Lion King remake, which is directed by Iron Man and The Jungle Book director Jon Favreau. Favreau uses his CG expertise that he honed in The Jungle Book to create photorealistic renderings of our favorite characters from The Lion King. The result... a bunch of animals! Some of the characters have little distinctions, like Scar and his scar, and Mufasa's illustrious mane.

These character posters show us Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, John Kani as Rafiki, Shahidi Wright Joseph as young Nala, JD McCrary as young Simba, and John Oliver as Zazu.

The Lion King opens in U.S. theaters on July 19, 2019.

Disney's "The Lion King, directed by Jon Favreau ("The Jungle Book"), journeys to the African savanna where a future king is born. Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.