Disney releases first trailer for live-action 'Lion King'

Disney fans had plenty to be thankful for on Turkey Day. The studio unveiled the first trailer for its live-action and CGI-animated remake of "The Lion King" during Fox's airing of the Dallas Cowboys-Washington Redskins football game,

The trailer opens with the unmistakable voice of James Earl Jones, repeating his role as Mufasa from the 1994 animated version. "Everything the light touches is our kingdom, but a king's time as ruler rises and falls like the sun," he tells his son, the lion cub Simba. "One day the sun will set on my time here, and will rise with you as the new king." The 92-second trailer ends with Jones uttering "Remember" followed by a lion's roar.

The new film is being helmed by Jon Favreau, who scored a hit in 2016 with a live-action re-imagining of another Disney animated classic, "The Jungle Book." Rounding out the voice cast of "The Lion King," which arrives in theaters in July, are Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as his girlfriend, Nala, Seth Rogen as the warthog Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as the meerkat Timon, Chiwetel Ejiofor as the villainous Scar, Keegan-Michael Key as the hyena Kamari and John Oliver as the red-billed hornbill Zazu.

Elton John and Hans Zimmer are returning to compose music for the movie. The duo penned the songs the first time around, including "Hakuna Matata," "Circle of Life" and the Oscar-winning "Can You Feel the Love Tonight."

The 1994 version of "The Lion King" was a roaring success for Disney and has grossed $968.5 million worldwide according to Boxofficemojo.com. The movie was also adapted into a stage musical that has reigned on Broadway for 21 years. Last year alone, the show earned an impressive $104.5 million according to the Broadway League, and was topped only by "Hamilton."

Disney has scored hit after hit with live-action remakes of its animated classics from "101 Dalmatians" (1996) featuring Glenn Close as Cruella DeVil to last year's "Beauty and the Beast" starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens in the title roles. Tim Burton's live-action remake of the 1941 smash "Dumbo" comes out in March.