Rumor: Be Prepared for Hugh Jackman as Scar in Disney’s ‘The Lion King’
Pop quiz, hotshot: what does an actor do after he retires from one of the most iconic superhero roles of all time? Answer: anything he wants! Nobody would fault Hugh Jackman for spending the next several years drinking mojitos on the beach and packing on some of the pounds he was contractually obligated to keep off for the X-Men franchise, but it sounds like Jackman isn’t about to rest on his laurels anytime soon. The actor has been hinting at an upcoming Disney collaboration over the last day, sharing suggestive photos of himself at Disney parks, and now a hot new rumor seems to explain why.
According to a new post at Omega Underground, Jackman has decided to sign on to play Scar in Jon Favreau‘s ive-action (ish?) remake of The Lion King. While this rumor has been picked up by most of the major sites, it's still pretty unconfirmed; ScreenRant, for example, added a note that their own sources were having a hard time confirming this report one way or the other. I'm of the opinion that this is an awful lot of smoke for no fire, but then again, they didn't make the announcement during Disney's The Lion King panel at D23 today, so who knows?
Of course, Jackman’s no slouch when it comes to the whole singing-and-dancing thing either, having starred in a slew of Broadway productions and the upcoming The Greatest Showman based on the life of P.T. Barnum. If he is confirmed, he'll join an already impressive cast of actors that includes Donald Glover, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, and John Oliver, not to mention James Earl Jones, who will reprise his role as Mufasa in the film. Like most rumors, expect this one to be confirmed or denied relatively quickly; if it's not Jackman, it'd better be someone just as impressive, because fan excitement over this one was palpable.