Lion King remake may omit a fan-favorite song

One of The Lion King’s most beloved original tracks won’t make it into Jon Favreau’s upcoming remake, according to an interview with composer Elton John.

“Be Prepared,” the song made famous by Jeremy Irons’ sonorous, dulcet voice, will reportedly not make it into the new movie, John told British publication The Sun.

“There’s going to be four of our songs in the film, from the original: ‘Can You Feel The Love Tonight?’ ‘Hakuna Matata,’ ‘I Just Can’t Wait To Be King,’ and ‘Circle of Life’,” John said. “And then there will be an end, closing song, and we’ve been speaking to Beyoncé’s people and hopefully Tim and I and her can cook up something. That’s going out in 2019 as well. And it will be great to work with her. So we will see.”

That means “Be Prepared,” one of the few songs that stars the nefarious Scar, will forever remain a memory from a better time. “Be Prepared” may not be as widely recognized or remembered as John’s four aforementioned tracks; “The Circle of Life,” “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” and “Hakuna Matata” all earned Oscar love in 1995. But “Be Prepared” found its own cult status among some of The Lion King’s most impassioned fans.

Irons will not be returning to voice the villain he made popular more than two decades ago. Instead, Oscar-nominated actor Chiwetel Ejiofor will step in to fill those shoes ... or paws, rather.

The Lion King, which stars Beyoncé, Donald Glover, James Earl Jones, John Oliver and Ejiofor among many other talented actors, will be released in 2019. The film is a continuation of Disney’s hybrid live-action remakes for some of the studio’s most popular films. Disney gave a similar treatment to The Jungle Book in 2016.