Be Prepared. To Be Disappointed.
It looks like one of Disney’s most iconic villain songs won’t be returning to the big screen.
Elton John, co-composer of The Lion King and its upcoming remake, revealed in an interview with The Sun that most of the classic songs he cowrote for the original movie will return…but with one glaring exception: “Be Prepared.”
“There’s going to be four of our songs in the film, from the original: ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight?’ ‘Hakuna Matata,’ ‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King,’ and ‘Circle of Life’,” John explained. “And then there will be an end, closing song, and we’ve been speaking to Beyoncé’s people and hopefully Tim and I and her can cook up something. That’s going out in 2019 as well. And it will be great to work with her. So we will see.”
Oooo a new song from Beyoncé?!?! (ANOTHER TIME, BACK TO SCAR’S SONG)
“Be Prepared” is of course what Scar sings to his Hyena lackeys when declaring his intentions to kill Mufasa and become king of Pride Rock. It’s classy, intense, and punctuated by Jeremy Irons’ regal and flamboyant pipes (another voice actor helped out with some of the singing BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT).
It’s a top-tier villain song, and if it’s really not showing up in the remake, we’re going to be bummed.
The Lion King will be directed by Jon Faveraeu, and stars Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar (maybe Chiwetel can’t sing), and James Earl Jones as Mufasa. In addition to Elton John returning for the songs, Hans Zimmer will once again provide the musical score.
We’re glad to hear all the other songs are coming back though! Maybe everything’s going to be fine with this remake. After all, “A shining new era is tiptoeing nearer.”
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The Lion King releases on July 19, 2019.
