Why I will not see The Lion King remake (updated)

This is an updated version of an article I posted on November 30, 2018.

The new CGI “Lion King” remake is scheduled for release on July 19.

Directed by Jon Favreau, the same man who directed “Iron Man (2008)” and revitalized Robert Downey, Jr.’s career, “The Lion King (2019)” looks to tell the story of Simba in a CGI-filled Africa. 

It’s the same Circle of Life story most of us grew up watching.

For me, the original 1994 “Lion King” film is a classic. It was one of my favorite movies growing up and it still holds up to this day. It’s definitely one of Disney’s top animated films of all time. The production story behind “The Lion King (1994)” is also a great story because the odds were stacked against directors Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, as reported by Goalcast.

It doesn’t need a remake.

Just like “Star Wars” and other films, Disney is creating carbon-based copies of the originals in order to get our money. It’s no secret that “The Force Awakens” is just “A New Hope” on steroids. Disney and J.J. Abrams just copied and pasted the entire plot of the Star Wars Original Trilogy with the new “Sequel Trilogy.” 

Disney has already released live-action remakes of “Dumbo” and “Aladdin” this year, with mixed results. “Dumbo (2019)” bombed at the domestic box office, while “Aladdin (2019)” was a commercial success, making more than two times its $183 million production budget.

There are two ways the new “Lion King” can play out: 1) it will be a shot-for-shot remake of the original, following the same plot line, or 2) it will make changes to the original film to reflect the values of the progressive left. 

For Disney, that means adding more diversity, which means less white people. The entire cast of the “Lion King” remake is mostly made of black people. That’s not a bad thing in and of itself, especially if Disney claims to want more realism since the movie takes place in Africa.

The problem is that this so-called “diversity” in movies is marketed as the best thing about the film. As a result, the film has nothing else to offer and shouldn’t have even been made in the first place. The same thing happened with the “Beauty and the Beast” remake. 

James Earl Jones, the voice of Mufasa, is the only original cast member coming back to reprise his role in the “live-action” remake. That is the only good thing about the remake. It’s hard to see anyone else voicing the other characters of the “Lion King” franchise. 

There’s also the risk that the filmmakers and producers will completely change these iconic “Lion King” characters’ personalities and character development so that they are completely different characters than what we saw before.

We already saw that happen to Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia in the Star Wars “Sequel Trilogy.” Harrison Ford basically only came back just so Han Solo could die in “The Force Awakens” and Carrie Fisher’s time as Princess Leia was cut short because of her death. 

“Star Wars” fans also hated “The Last Jedi” because the film ruined Luke Skywalker (played by Mark Hamill) as a character. Luke will always be an idealistic farm boy who matured over the course of the “Original Trilogy” to become a Jedi Knight. Yet Disney and LucasFilm turned Luke into a grumpy old man who ran away from his friends and the fight against evil.

The Luke Skywalker we know and love would never have turned his back against the good guys. He also would never try to murder his nephew just because Kylo Ren (played by Adam Driver) was being tempted by the Dark Side. This is the same guy who refused to kill Darth Vader, his father, even though everyone told him his dad couldn’t be saved. And yet Luke still saved him. That’s the man fans wanted to see in the “Sequel Trilogy,” not some grumpy old man who ran away from the fight against evil.

Just like “Star Wars” characters from the Original Trilogy, Simba, Nala, Timon and Pumba, and all of the other “Lion King” characters are iconic. They shouldn’t be changed to suit Disney’s political agenda. And that goes for “Star Wars” as well.

Here’s the thing: Disney is making these remakes because they know they are cash cows. Instead of taking risks on new creative film projects, Disney is just making live-action versions of their animated films because they want to make a lot of money.

“The Last Jedi” divided “Star Wars” fans. It had many flaws and too much bad filmmaking when it came to the characters and plot. Disney’s filmmakers didn’t help matters when J.J. Abrams called people who hated “The Last Jedi” sexists. Abrams revealed that he, Disney and LucasFilm cared only about their Social Justice Warrior agenda. They won’t make good quality “Star Wars” films because they don’t care about the fans who respect the characters and the story.

Star Wars “fatigue” doesn’t exist. There are plenty of people out there who want quality “Star Wars” films, not movies that degrade our iconic heroes from the original films.

The same thing goes for “The Lion King,” “Aladdin,” and other Disney classics.

Like most of Hollywood, the filmmakers at Disney have no more original ideas left. They choose to make remakes instead of creating films with good storytelling and great characters. We saw this with “The Jungle Book,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and the “Star Wars: Sequel Trilogy.” Disney could have continued these characters’ adventures right where the other films left off, but instead these films are just cheap copies of the originals in order to make a quick buck at the expense of fans and American taxpayers alike. 

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” continues that trend. It wouldn’t be a surprise if it copies “Return of the Jedi.”

“Solo: A Star Wars Story” bombed at the box office as a result of fan backlash against Disney and LucasFilm’s portrayals of Han, Luke, and Leia throughout the “Sequel Trilogy,” along with Abrams and filmmakers and producers disrespecting the fans and audience. Disney then announced they were canceling every “Star Wars Anthology” film they planned to create because they ended up losing millions of dollars with “Solo.”

The “Solo” effect can happen again if more people decide to avoid Disney’s new live-action remakes.

That’s why I’m not going to see “The Lion King” remake, not even if it comes to a streaming service.