Beyoncé will play Nala in the live action remake of The Lion King

First there was Cinderella, then there was The Jungle Book and then Beauty and the Beast – and now, finally, Disney’s The Lion King is getting the live-action remake treatment.

And now, after months of speculation, Queen Bey herself, the mighty Beyoncé, has confirmed that she will be joining the cast to voice the feisty lioness, and main love-interest, Nala.

The Lion King remake will be director by The Jungle Book and Iron Man's Jon Favreau, and will see actor and musician Donald Glover (aka Childish Gambino) voice the grown Simba. The mellifluous James Earl Jones will – incredibly – reprise his role as Simba's father, Mufasa.

A fantastic lead cast is rounded off by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who will lend his voice to villain Scar. A who's-who of current comedy legends including John Oliver, Keegan Michael Key and Seth Rogen are all set to feature in what might well be scene-stealing cameo roles.

The Lion King, first released in 1994, is one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time. Following the huge success of recent live-action remakes of Disney classics, we think that it's safe to say that this will be another global box-office hit.

But we're going to have to wait patiently until 2019 before we can see this new version since Jon Favreau is currently tied-up with his sequel to The Jungle Book.

Of all the possible Disney remakes we could hope for, this is surely the most exciting. Hakuna Matata everyone.