The Lion King Spinoff Adds Rob Lowe and Gabrielle Union to Cast
Pride Rock is getting some A-listers. Rob Lowe, Gabrielle Union, James Earl Jones, Max Charles, Atticus Shaffer, and Sarah Hyland will lend their voices to the African savannah in Disney's upcoming television movie The Lion Guard Return of the Roar, a spin-off of the beloved animated film The Lion King. At least six characters from the 1994 film will appear Lowe will voice Simba opposite Union's Nala, while James Earl Jones and Ernie Sabella will reprise their roles from the movie as Mufasa and Pumbaa, respectively. Rafiki Khary Payton and Timon Kevin Schon will also return to the kingdom but only where the light touches. The TV movie event, premiering in November on Disney Channel, follows Kion the second-born son of Simba and Nala and the rest of the Lion Guard, a task force of animals charged with preserving the Pride Lands. Charles plays the heroic lion cub, who's also the group's leader Shaffer The Middle plays Ono, an egret Joshua Rush plays honey badger Bunga Diamond White plays Fuli, a cheetah and Dusan Brown voices Beshte, a hippo. Together, they're something of a mammalian Avengers  except one's a bird. The movie will be directed by Howy Parkins and feature new music from Christopher Willis and Beau Black. Watch a sneak peek of the film above.