Disney is making a live-action version of 'The Lion King' with the director of 'Iron Man' and 'The Jungle Book'

Walt Disney Studios

On the heels of his massively successful live-action adaptation of "The Jungle Book," director Jon Favreau is now set to give the same treatment to Disney's animated classic "The Lion King."

Walt Disney Studios confirmed the news in a press release after Favreau alluded to his "next project" on Twitter with a lion and crown emoji Wednesday morning.

Tweet Embed:
https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/781118520318828550
Excited for my next project 🦁👑

Favreau's "The Jungle Book" has earned $968.5 million at the worldwide box office since its release in April, according to Disney. 

"The Lion King" will follow the same musical format of "The Jungle Book" and the upcoming live-action "Beauty and the Beast" adaptation in that it is set to include original songs from the 1994 animated film. 

Disney has also announced that Favreau is developing a sequel to "The Jungle Book," and neither the sequel nor "The Lion King" have release dates as of yet. 

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