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The Lion King's Characters Are Heading to the Small Screen

Broadway veterans James Earl Jones and Ernie Sabella will reprise their roles as Mufasa and Pumbaa.

The characters of The Lion King are headed back to the screen.
The characters of The Lion King are headed for the small screen.

Disney's The Lion King franchise will welcome a newcomer to its pride. The company has announced plans to produce a new primetime movie titled The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar, which is set to air on Disney Channel and Disney Junior outlets in early 2016, according to Variety.

The main character in The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar will be Kion, young son of The Lion King's Simba. Kion, Simba's second born, will spend the movie keeping peace in the realm along with a varied team of animal friends called the Lion Guard. The movie, as well as TV episodes that are scheduled to follow, will find the Guard learning to solve problems.

The cast of The Lion Guard will feature Broadway favorites James Earl Jones (You Can't Take It With You) and Ernie Sabella (Curtains) reprising their roles from The Lion King as Mufasa and Pumbaa, respectively. In addition, the cast will include Rob Lowe as Simba, Gabrielle Union as Nala, Max Charlesas Kion, Joshua Rush as Kion’s honey badger best friend Bunga, Atticus Shaffer as the egret Ono, Diamond White as cheetah Fuli, and Dusan Brown as hippo Beshte.

The Lion King franchise is best known to theatergoers as the Broadway musical The Lion King, which has run for over 17 years. In September 2014, the musical become the highest-grossing commodity in any media in entertainment history, reaching a worldwide gross of $6.2 billion and surpassing its Broadway predecessor The Phantom of the Opera.

For tickets to The Lion King on Broadway, click here.

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