As everyone was preparing their Thanksgiving feasts and Black Friday shopping plans on Thursday, Disney released the first teaser trailer of Jon Favreau’s upcoming remake of the 1994 animated classic, The Lion King. The trailer made the rounds on the internet and generations of audiences were drawn to the life-like CGI bringing the iconic “Circle of Life” sequence to life with new technology.
Given the significance of The Lion King after nearly 25 years, millions around the world would be impacted by what this new trailer would do. Now, Disney has something to celebrate as the debut of this new trailer has broken many records in its first 24 hours. The first teaser trailer for the film reached a global total of 224.6 million views on its first day.
The only film that tops this record from The Lion King is the first trailer for Marvel’s Avengers: Infinity War, which is likely to be broken yet again when the long-awaited trailer for Avengers 4 drops sometime before the end of 2018.
2019 is shaping up to be one of, if not the biggest year in Disney’s history as a studio. Numerous films that are either highly-anticipated sequels or live-action re-imaginings or classic animated films will hit theaters throughout next year, and The Lion King is a strong contender to be the biggest of the bunch based off of these trailer views.
The Lion King tells the story of a young cub named Simba, who is manipulated into fleeing the pride lands he was destined to rule after his uncle Scar murders King Mufasa and convinces the prince that he is responsible for his own father’s death. After meeting two eccentric companions and reuniting with childhood friend Nala, an adult Simba finds himself confronted with the choice of remaining in exile or returning home to end the tyrannical rule of Scar and take his rightful place as King.
Directed by Jon Favreau from a script written by Jeff Nathanson, The Lion King features the voice talents of Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala , Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa , Billy Eichner as Timon, John Kani as Rafiki, John Oliver as Zazu, Alfre Woodard as Sarabi, Keegan-Michael Key as Kamari, Eric Andre as Azizi, Florence Kasumba as Shenzi, and James Earl Jones as Mufasa.
The Lion King will be released in theaters on July 19, 2019.
