X

Who's yer daddy? James Earl Jones back as Mufasa of 'Lion King'

Fans just can't wait for the actor with the booming voice to return to Pride Rock in the upcoming remake.

Gael Cooper
CNET editor Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, a journalist and pop-culture junkie, is co-author of "Whatever Happened to Pudding Pops? The Lost Toys, Tastes and Trends of the '70s and '80s," as well as "The Totally Sweet '90s." She's been a journalist since 1989, working at Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, Twin Cities Sidewalk, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and NBC News Digital. She's Gen X in birthdate, word and deed. If Marathon candy bars ever come back, she'll be first in line.
Expertise Breaking news, entertainment, lifestyle, travel, food, shopping and deals, product reviews, money and finance, video games, pets, history, books, technology history, generational studies. Credentials
  • Co-author of two Gen X pop-culture encyclopedia for Penguin Books. Won "Headline Writer of the Year"​ award for 2017, 2014 and 2013 from the American Copy Editors Society. Won first place in headline writing from the 2013 Society for Features Journalism.
See full bio
Gael Cooper

"Lion King" fans are looking forward to James Earl Jones being king -- again.

The 86-year-old actor, who provided the deep voice of Darth Vader in the Star Wars series as well as of Simba's regal father Mufasa in the 1994 Disney movie "The Lion King," is returning to Pride Rock.

On Friday, Jon Favreau, who's directing the planned "Lion King" remake, sent out a tweet that had fans roaring with delight.

Though delight turned to dread for some when they remembered Mufasa's fate.

Favreau also dropped another casting bomb on Friday: the casting of Donald Glover as Mufasa's son Simba, the film's namesake.

Fans seemed to like that casting choice, too.

Some were confused because the new film (no release date yet) is being talked up as a live-action film.

But as The Hollywood Reporter explains, the remake will be similar to Favreau's version of "The Jungle Book," which featured a child actor but brought the animals to life with computer technology.

The remake has no release date yet, but hakuna matata, it's on the way.

It's Complicated: This is dating in the age of apps. Having fun yet? These stories get to the heart of the matter.

Batteries Not Included: The CNET team reminds us why tech is cool.