Star Wars’ Donald Glover will voice Simba in live-action Lion King movie (update)

Donald Glover will voice Simba in director Jon Favreau’s live-action adaptation of The Lion King, the director announced tonight.

Favreau made the announcement over Twitter, tweeting a picture of the actor with the caption “I just can’t wait to be king.”

The caption is a nod to the iconic song of the same name that appeared in the 1994 animated film. The film, which won two Oscars in 1995, starred Jonathan Taylor Thomas as the younger version of Simba and Matthew Broderick as the older, more mature lion.

It’s unclear if Glover will be playing the younger or older version of the lion, but more details are expected to be released soon. The Lion King is one of the next live-action adaptations of an earlier animated movie that Disney has ordered. Over the past seven years, there have been live-action adaptations of Alice in Wonderland and The Jungle Book. The next Disney movie to receive the live-action adaptation treatment is Beauty and the Beast, which will be released on March 16.

Glover will also play Lando Calrissian in the upcoming Han Solo movie and has an unspecified role in Spider-Man: Homecoming.

The Lion King does not currently have a release date.

Update: James Earl Jones, best known for voicing Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy and Mufasa in the original Lion King, will return to reprise his role as the patriarchal figure of the lion pride. Favreau made the announcement just a couple of minutes after confirming Glover would be voicing Simba.