'The Lion King' live-action adaptation news: Beyonce to play Nala in upcoming film?

A still from "The Lion King" Disney

Beyonce is considered the queen of the music industry, and it looks like she is poised to play royalty once again as the Queen of the Jungle. The singer is reportedly being eyed to voice Nala, the childhood friend and later, the mate of Simba in "The Lion King."

Variety reported that Director Jon Favreau's first option for Nala in this project, which is the live-action reboot of the animated film, is Beyonce. Jeff Nathanson is writing the script. Donald Glover will be voicing Simba, while James Earl Jones, who voiced Mufasa in the animated film, will be reprising his role.

According to Disney, "The Lion King" is currently on the "fast track to production." Favreau is also the director of "The Jungle Book." He is also reportedly on board the sequel to this live-action adaptation.

Should the Grammy winner accept this project, this will be her second voice acting role — the first being "Mother Nature" in the 2013 Fox animated film "Epic." She also appeared in other movies such as "Dreamgirls," "Obsessed," and "Austin Powers in Goldmember."

However, sources are saying that Beyonce has not decided to take on the project because she is currently pregnant with twins. She previously canceled her performance at Coachella because of this. However, some speculate that she is more likely to accept this project, given that this only calls for her voice. Furthermore, word has it that the studio and the director are willing to work around Beyonce's schedule so that they can have her as part of the cast.

Despite havinng no clear confirmation about the singer accepting the project, a lot of her fans are already excited about it, not only because she will voice the character, but also because of the possibility that she will sing some of the songs of the film soundtrack as well.

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