Directed by Jon Favreau, written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Fairview Entertainment, the film stars the voices of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Florence Kasumba, Eric André, Keegan-Michael Key, JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph, with Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and James Earl Jones (reprising his voice role as Mufasa for the final time).

A follow-up, Mufasa: The Lion King, a film which serves as both a prequel and a sequel, was directed by Barry Jenkins and released on December 20, 2024.

King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi's newborn son, Simba, is presented to the gathering animals by Rafiki the mandrill, the kingdom's shaman and advisor.

Simba and Nala fall in love, and she urges him to return home, telling him that the Pride Lands have become drought-stricken under Scar's reign.

With the Pride Lands restored, Rafiki presents Simba and Nala's newborn cub to the assembled animals, thus continuing the circle of life.

[1] Amy Sedaris, Chance the Rapper, Josh McCrary, and Phil LaMarr voice a guineafowl, a bushbaby, an elephant shrew, and an impala, respectively, Timon and Pumbaa's neighbors in the oasis.

[29][30] Earlier in March 2017, it was announced that Beyoncé Knowles-Carter was Favreau's top choice for the role of Nala and that the director and studio would be willing to do whatever it took to accommodate her busy schedule.

[31] Later on November 1, 2017, her role was confirmed in an official announcement,[32][33] which also confirmed that Chiwetel Ejiofor would play the role of Scar, and announced that Eric André, Florence Kasumba, and Keegan-Michael Key would be the voices of Azizi, Shenzi, and Kamari while JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph would be the voices of young Simba and young Nala, respectively.

[40] The Moving Picture Company, the lead vendor on The Jungle Book, provided the visual effects, which were supervised by Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, and Adam Valdez.

All the FX simulations—such as water, dirt and fire—were created by combining VR technology with cameras shots so that scenes could be digitally built within a VR-simulated environment.

[55] Knowles-Carter also produced and curated an album titled The Lion King: The Gift, which features "Spirit", as well as songs inspired by the film.

[59] A special sneak peek featuring John Kani's voice as Rafiki and a new poster were released during the 91st Academy Awards on February 24, 2019.

[60] On April 10, 2019, Disney released the official trailer featuring new footage which revealed Scar, Zazu, Simba and Nala (both as cubs and as adults), Sarabi, Rafiki, Timon and Pumbaa, and the hyenas.

[63] A special sneak peek featuring Beyoncé Knowles-Carter's, Billy Eichner's, and Seth Rogen's voices as Nala, Timon, and Pumbaa, respectively, was released on June 3, 2019.

[65] On July 2, 2019, Disney released an extensive behind-the-scenes featurette detailing the various aspects of the film's production along with seven publicity stills featuring the voice actors facing their animal counterparts.

On December 23, 2018, Sean Bailey, Disney's President of Production, said that while the film will "revere and love those parts that the audience wants", there will be "things in the movie that are going to be new".

[76][77] It is one of the first theatrical films to be released on Disney+, alongside Aladdin, Toy Story 4, Frozen II, Captain Marvel, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

The website's critical consensus reads: "While it can take pride in its visual achievements, The Lion King is a by-the-numbers retelling that lacks the energy and heart that made the original so beloved — though for some fans that may just be enough.

"[129] Todd McCarthy at The Hollywood Reporter considered it to be inferior to the original, noting, "The film's aesthetic caution and predictability begin to wear down on the entire enterprise in the second half.

A. Dowd proclaiming: "Ultimately, only Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, as slacker sidekicks Timon and Pumbaa, make much of an impression; their funny, possibly ad-libbed banter feels both fresh and true to the spirit of the characters — the perfect remake recipe.

"[136] William Bibbiani of TheWrap wrote in his review, "Jon Favreau's remake looks incredibly literal, but the digital animal performers lack the facial expressions and body movement to tell the story.

"[137] Sreeparna Sengupta of The Times of India praised the film, giving it a score of 3.5/5 and stating "For those who haven't seen the original, 'The Lion King' (2019) is certainly worth a watch for its gorgeous visuals and technical genius.

"[139] Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3/4 stars, saying, "The worst thing you can say about this movie, and perhaps the highest compliment you can pay it, is to say it would be even more dazzling if it told a different story with different animals and the same technology and style — and maybe without songs, because you don't necessarily need them when you have images that sing.

"[140] Kevin Maher of The Times gave the film 4/5 stars, praising it as an improvement over the original, though he criticized the ending as "descend[ing] into a sprawling Avengers-style donnybrook with little dramatic resonance.

"[141] Edward Porter of The Sunday Times gave the film 3/5 stars, praising the visuals and performances, but criticizing the lack of expressiveness of the characters' faces.

Dowd bemoaned the film's insistence on realism, commenting, "We're watching a hollow bastardization of a blockbuster, at once completely reliant on the audience's pre-established affection for its predecessor and strangely determined to jettison much of what made it special.

"[136] Scott Mendelson at Forbes condemned the film as a "crushing disappointment": "At almost every turn, this redo undercuts its own melodrama by downplaying its own emotions.

"[132] David Ehrlich of IndieWire panned the film, writing, "Unfolding like the world's longest and least convincing deepfake, Jon Favreau's (almost) photorealistic remake of The Lion King is meant to represent the next step in Disney's circle of life.

Instead, this soulless chimera of a film comes off as little more than a glorified tech demo from a greedy conglomerate — a well-rendered but creatively bankrupt self-portrait of a movie studio eating its own tail.

[169] In September 2022 at the D23 Expo, it was announced that the film will be titled Mufasa: The Lion King and that it will follow the titular character's origin story.