Simba Brendan Fraser, takes the place of both Rafiki and Mufasa by standing at the tip of Pride Rock and presenting his young son to a crowd of onlooking animals, accompanied by wife Ursula, portrayed by Leslie Mann. During the third season finale of "Once Upon a Time", the main character Emma Swan asked her parents Snow White and David Nolan if they were going to hold up her yet unnamed baby brother like in "The Lion King". Since the release of "The Lion King" in 1994, the name "Simba" has increased in use and popularity among dog and cat owners.
The Lion King Andre, Florence Kasumba, Keegan-Michael Key, JD McCrary and Shahadi Wright Joseph joining the cast as the voices of Azizi, Shenzi and Kamari, young Simba and young Nala, respectively while Hans Zimmer would return to score the film's music. On November 28, 2017, it was reported that Elton John had signed onto the project to rework his musical compositions from the original film. Production for the film began in May 2017. It is scheduled for release on July 19, 2019. Along with the film release, three different video games based on "The Lion King" were released by Virgin Interactive in December