Director Jon Favreau has shared a photo of himself with his live-action Lion King star, Donald Glover. Favreau, of course, has proven to be an invaluable player for Disney since his stunning live-action version of the Mouse House’s animated classic The Jungle Book earned $364 million domestically and $602.5 million overseas for an immense global take of $966.5 million.

Clearly understanding that Favreau has an incredible handle on the delicate approach it takes to adapt a classic animated property to the live-action realm using mostly CGI, Disney didn’t waste any time in assigning the acclaimed filmmaker the director’s chores for one of its most coveted properties with a live-action adaptation of The Lion King.

Without question, Favreau has the weight of the world on his shoulders as prepares the live-action version of The Lion King for its July 19, 2019, release. A remake of the 1994 theatrical release, which with subsequent special edition releases on the big screen has earned $968 million globally, Favreau’s adaptation of The Lion King is stacked with talent, with such stars as Glover as Simba and James Earl Jones as Mufasa , as well as Beyonce as Nala and Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar . And while he has big box office numbers to live up to, Favreau appears to be having the time of his life working on the biggest film of his career, and a new photo is evidence of that.

In a post on his Twitter account Wednesday, Favreau is shown smiling wide in a new photo with Glover, who is no appears equally as enthused. The photo is accompanied by two simple but big words from Favreau as far as the production is concerned: “Simba Returns!” See the tweet below:

Simba returns! 🦁👑 pic.twitter.com/SHunf9fDkQ
— Jon Favreau (@Jon_Favreau) December 21, 2017

While pre-production has no doubt been underway for a while, the photo essentially implies that with Simba’s return that Glover’s work on The Lion King as begun. Since Favreau’s Twitter account has been relatively quiet since the announcement of the full cast for the film in November, hopefully his photo with Glover signals the beginning of a lot more behind-the-scenes looks at the film as it charges ahead into principal photography.


The tweet featuring Glover is the second Lion King post this week featuring Favreau, as Thor: Ragnarok director Taika Waititi popped by the production to visit his fellow filmmaker Tuesday and honored the occasion with a bit of his quirky trademark humor. See Waititi’s tweet below:

I saw things today you humans wouldn't believe. Things so exciting that I peed a little. From my eyes.

🦁👑 https://t.co/ibEoQRrxcB
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) December 20, 2017

As hilarious as his tweet was about his Lion King visit with Favreau was, fans shouldn’t lose sight of the significance of Waititi’s comment. For a filmmaker who took the Thor film experience to a whole new level visually, saying he’s seen things that “humans wouldn’t believe” means that Lion King fans are in for something groundbreaking.