‘Lion King’ Director Talks Beyoncé’s ‘Extremely Memorable’ Involvement

The Lion King director Jon Favreau is just as excited about Beyoncé being in the film as everyone else.

In a new interview with Fandango, he revealed that hearing her sing “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” was “definitely extremely memorable.” He added that “all of us just listened to it over and over. And she sings the duet with Donald Glover, who is an incredible talent as well, not only comedically, but also musically. So to hear the two of them together singing this classic song with so much personality and emotion, we felt really confident that people are going to be excited when they heard this.”

When Favreau was asked about how thrilled he was when Bey joined the cast, he said, “understanding who she is and what she represents to so many people and the fact that she’s collaborating with me on this really helps differentiate it from previous productions. It helps give this production its own personality, because she’s such an important figure and her musical interpretation is seen as something that people welcome.”

He also addressed the mysterious new song that Beyoncé sings in the movie, sharing that “it doesn’t replace anything.” The new Lion King will include all the original songs, but Bey’s new track is one “she performed and wrote in the spirit of the production.” Make no mistake though: Favreau assures us that the new record feels “organically a part of the new production.”

According to Fandango and Atom Tickets, the upcoming live-action reimagining is breaking records for straight-up Disney movies. The film drops on July 19, with the official soundtrack releasing July 11.