Disney's live action Lion King is officially getting a sequel!

Lion King, Live Action, Disney, Sequel, Barry Jenkins, Direction, Beyonce, Donald Glover
Photo credit Alberto E. Rodriguez

Yes, it's true, we are going to travel to Pride Rock and enter the circle of life once again! 

Disney announced their groundbreaking live-action movie, The Lion King, is officially getting a sequel. The follow-up movie will be directed by Barry Jenkins, who is known for winning the Academy Award for Best Picture for his coming of age film, Moonlight. 

The sequel will use the same photo-realistic computer animation that brought your beloved characters to life, giving it the 'live-action' feeling. AND the same writer who wrote the plot for the first movie is signed on to write the second. While the plot details are virtually unknown as Disney keeps that information close to the chest, it has been rumored that it will be more about Mufasa's past and his rise to King. 

There was a second animated movie, though, titled The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride where Simba and Nala's daughter, Kiara ventures into the forbidden lands and befriends the outcast lions that her father warned her to stay away from. Disney has not announced if the live-action sequel will follow some of these plot lines or create its own story from scratch. It will interesting to see which story it will follow. 

There is no production date or release date set and no official word if the actors from the first will be signing on to voice the same characters, but due to the success of the first movie and the love surrounding the whole franchise, it seems as if it will be in production quicker than expected. The first movie did break $1 billion at the box office AND become one of the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time, so it will probably be a priority to get the second one out there soon.