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Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen are Timon and Pumbaa in Disney's The Lion King

Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen are Dynamic Duo in Disney’s Lion King

Everyone’s favorite warthog and meerkat are coming back to the big screen in Walt Disney Pictures’ live-action adaptation of The Lion King, which will be directed by Jon Favreau (The Jungle Book, 2016). Yesterday, the studio announced that the film is scheduled to premiere July 19, 2019. According to TheWrapBilly Eichner and Seth Rogen are both entering into final negotiations to play Timon and Pumbaa respectively.

Timon and Pumbaa were the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of 1994’s The Lion King, which was loosely based on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In the original animated film, the two were played by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella. Both stars reprised their roles for the Timon and Pumbaa television series in the 90s, but were later replaced by Kevin Schon and then Quinton Flynn. The two returned to their respective roles again for The Lion King 1 1/2which was inspired by Tom Stoppard’s Hamlet side-quel Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.

Eichner and Rogen recently starred together in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising. Neither are strangers to lending their voices to animated characters. Eichner is a regular on FOX’s Bob’s Burgers as Mr. Ambrose, the librarian. Rogen starred in the raunchy animated film Sausage Party last year. He also voices Mantis in the Kung Fu Panda movies.

When cast, the two actors will join Donald Glover as Simba and James Earl Jones, who is reprising his role as Mufasa. Favreau has also stated that his top choice for Nala is Queen B, Beyoncé herself. Although, whether or not she’ll actually be cast in unconfirmed.

So what do you think of Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa? It’ll be a tough following the comedic and musical stylings of the original actors. We just hope they can pull off this scene:

Source: ComingSoon

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Christina E. Janke

Christina is the co-host of “Intro to Geek” on Shauncastic and Editor-in-Chief at Agents of Geek. Her love of all things Mass Effect knows no bounds. She also carries an obsession with comic books, video games, and quirky television shows. Her heroes are Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Gail Simone. She hopes to be just like them when she grows up.