So far all we’ve really seen from the upcoming The Lion King remake are grand, sweeping shots of the African plains and the celebration of a future king, but as anyone who has ever watched the original animated film knows, this is also a story of tragic loss and ultimate betrayal. Neither of those would be possible without one of the most detestable bad guys in movie history, Scar (voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor), and he and his hyena henchmen take center stage in the newest trailer for the film. But don’t worry, because it also introduces us to some of our favorite good guys from Simba’s kingdom, and they’ll have you singing “Hakuna Matata” before you know.
While Scar’s iconic black mane is gone and we’re sure some will be disappointed by that, he might be far more terrifying now because he looks more like Mufasa’s jealous brother, and that might make the familial aspect of Mufasa’s murder even more powerful.
Also, we know there has been a lot of debate about whether this movie technically qualifies as live-action since it is primarily done in CGI (we know, we’ve been debating that for months ourselves), but that feels like we’re losing the forest in the trees, because what really matters is how beautiful this looks. This is easily the best promo for the film. How can it not be when it also shows us Simba (Donald Glover) strutting around with his friends Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) and Timon (Billy Eichner)? Not to mention a quick shot of Nala (Beyoncé), Zazu (John Oliver), and Rafiki (John Kani).
But even those great moments of friendship, love, and redemption wouldn’t mean anything without a great villain to show us why they’re important. Long live the evil king, but not for that long.
The Lion King roars into theaters this summer, on July 19.
