Who directed the 2019 CGI remake?

Jon Favreau directed the 2019 CGI remake of The Lion King.

Disney confirmed Favreau as director in September 2016, following the commercial and critical success of his 2016 film The Jungle Book. Like that earlier project, The Lion King used extensive computer-generated imagery and virtual-production techniques to create a highly realistic animal world. Although often called live-action, the 2019 film is more precisely described as a photorealistic CGI-animated remake.

Favreau retained many major elements of the 1994 story and soundtrack while assembling a new voice cast. Donald Glover voiced adult Simba, Beyoncé voiced Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor voiced Scar, and James Earl Jones returned as Mufasa.

The remake premiered in July 2019 and became a major global box-office success. Its production used virtual-reality tools to let filmmakers stage digitally created environments as though they were filming inside a real location. That blend of animation and virtual cinematography is why the film is frequently discussed as a distinctive hybrid filmmaking experiment.