Disney took CinemaCon by storm on Tuesday, unveiling sneak preview footage for three highly anticipated films expected to released in 2019. The studio was there to hawk their upcoming live action adaptations of The Lion King, Dumbo and Aladdin.
Disney capped off their 90 minute presentation at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas with the opening sequence to The Lion King, which features "The Circle Life" soundtracking the visual. The film is expected to debut in July of 2019, which is exactly 25 years and one month after the original was released theatrically, effectively cultivating a massive fanbase.
The footage bears a striking resemblance to its 1994 source material, in which King Mufasa's newborn son Simba is presented to the animal kingdom at Pride Rock.
Exhibitors attending the festival were also impressed with the first snippet of the upcoming Dumbo adaptation which is loosely based off the animated film from 1941. The period piece will star Danny DeVito as the circus ringmaster alongside Michael Keaton as the owner. The footage did not include an actual flying elephant, but instead, a CGI pachyderm with massive elephantine ears. In response to the unrevealing clip, Disney's distribution head Catherine Taff admits that "we had to hold something back."
Early footage of Aladdin also given a particularly favourable response, with Will Smith assuming the role of Genie. The actor recently admitted that "Disney knows how to do it," before revealing that "this is going to be beautiful."
