Get Your First Look at Beyoncé as Nala in 'The Lion King'

The children of Generation Alpha will grow up with a far different collection of Disney movies than those before them. The storied mass media and entertainment conglomerate has been steadily investing in live action remakes of their animated classics. The latest installment is The Lion King, to be released on Friday, July 19.

Superstar vocalist and performer, and East Hampton resident, Beyoncé will voice Nala, the childhood friend of Simba, future king of the Pride Lands. Simba, voiced by Donald Glover (Atlanta, Solo: A Star Wars Story), and Nala reunite as adults following Simba’s time in self-inflicted exile. Bey was apparently very involved on set. Director Jon Favreau, who specializes in photorealistic computer-generated imagery (CGI) films, was a fan of Beyoncé long before she signed on to voice the role of Nala.

Favreau told Entertainment Weekly of the pop star’s interest in the animation process, saying, “Whenever she came by to work on it, she was incredibly curious about the technology, and as I showed her the techniques and materials, she rolled up her sleeves and got into the VR and started to mess around with all the tools.”

Beyoncé and Glover, known to the music world as Childish Gambino, also collaborated with The Lion King’s original music team to revamp the original Oscar-winning score for a new generation of Disney fans.

Check out the trailer above and tell us what you think of Disney’s move toward live action and CGI.