The Lion King afterwards, Linda Woolverton spent a year writing drafts of the script, which was titled "King of the Beasts" and then "King of the Jungle". The original version of the film was very different from the final film. The plot was centered in a battle being between lions and baboons with Scar being the leader of the baboons, Rafiki being a cheetah, and Timon and Pumbaa being Simba's childhood friends. Simba would also not leave the kingdom but become a "lazy, slovenly, horrible character" due to manipulations from Scar, so Simba could be overthrown after coming of age. By 1990, producer
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