When Disney announced they were working on a “live-action” version of The Lion King, one of the main questions on everyone’s minds was whether it would be a musical. Tim Rice and Elton John’s songs from the 1994 film are iconic, and pretty married to the entire notion of The Lion King. Disney understood as much, and director Jon Favreau did indeed bring back the iconic songs from the animated film—plus more.

The Lion King soundtrack details have been revealed just as tickets have gone on sale, and it’s a predictably impressive lineup that promises beloved songs sung by the likes of Beyonce, Donald Glover, and Chiwetel Ejiofor. Additionally, the soundtrack includes an all-new song by John and Rice called “Never Too Late” that will appear in the film’s end credits and will almost certainly be pushed as a “Best Original Song” contender—just like the new songs in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast.

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The soundtrack features new recordings of the original songs written by John and Rice, score by Hans Zimmer, and African vocal and choir arrangements by Lebo M. As if that wasn’t enough, Pharrell Williams produced five songs on the soundtrack including “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.”

As for Zimmer’s score, per the press release he “wanted to approach the score differently for the new film and enlisted the Re-Collective Orchestra (led by founders Matt Jones and Stephanie Matthews), along with the Hollywood Studio Symphony (comprised of Los Angeles-based session players), and his band. The goal was to rehearse and record the score like a live concert performance.” So while Zimmer did indeed return and revisits themes he created for the 1994 film, it was crafted with a bit of a different flavor.

Check out the full Lion King soundtrack listing below—which includes a “TBA” track. The digital soundtrack is set for release on July 11th and the physical album will release on July 19th, the same day that the film hits theaters.

  1. 1. “Circle of Life”/“Nants’ Ingonyama” – Performed by Lindiwe Mkhize; African vocals performed by Lebo M; written and composed by Elton John and Tim Rice; “Nants’ Ingonyama” written by Lebohang Morake and Hans Zimmer; produced by Hans Zimmer; vocals produced by Stephen Lipson
  2. 2. “Life’s Not Fair” – Hans Zimmer
  3. 3. “Rafiki’s Fireflies” – Hans Zimmer
  4. 4. “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” – Performed by JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph and John Oliver; written by Elton John and Tim Rice; produced by Pharrell Williams; co-produced by Stephen Lipson
  5. 5. “Elephant Graveyard” – Hans Zimmer
  6. 6. “Be Prepared” (2019 Version) – Performed by Chiwetel Ejiofor; written by Elton John and Tim Rice; produced by Hans Zimmer and David Fleming
  7. 7. “Stampede” – Hans Zimmer
  8. 8. “Scar Takes the Throne” – Hans Zimmer
  9. 9. “Hakuna Matata” – Performed by Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, JD McCrary and Donald Glover; written by Elton John and Tim Rice; produced by Pharrell Williams; co-produced by Stephen Lipson
  10. 10. “Simba is Alive!” – Hans Zimmer
  11. 11. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” – Performed by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen; written by Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David Weiss and Solomon Linda; produced by Pharrell Williams
  12. 12. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” - Performed by Beyoncé, Donald Glover, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen; written by Elton John and Tim Rice; produced by Pharrell Williams; co-produced by Stephen Lipson
  13. 13. “Reflections of Mufasa” – Hans Zimmer
  14. 14. TBA
  15. 15. “Battle for Pride Rock” – Hans Zimmer
  16. 16. “Remember” – Hans Zimmer
  17. 17. “Never Too Late” – Performed by Elton John; African vocal and choir arrangements created and produced by Lebo M; written by Elton John and Tim Rice; produced by Greg Kurstin; additional production by Elton John and Matt Still
  18. 18. “He Lives in You” - Performed by Lebo M; written by Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin and Lebohang Morake; produced by Lebo M and Mark Mancina
  19. 19. “Mbube” - Performed by Lebo M; African vocal and choir arrangements created and produced by Lebo M; written by Solomon Linda; produced by Pharrell Williams
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Image via Disney
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Image via Disney

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