He just can’t wait to be king, or to listen to the soundtrack. Image : Disney

Be prepared to get completely wrapped up in a list of songs.

Disney just released the (mostly) full soundtrack listing for Jon Favreau’s upcoming remake of The Lion King, and there’s a lot to take in.


First of all, all of the songs from the original movie are there, including “Be Prepared,” which early rumors suggested could be dropped. This, however, is a “2019 Version,” whatever that means besides the obvious (it’s sung by Chiwetel Ejiofor this time around instead of original voice actor Jeremy Irons). Elton John, who co-wrote the original songs with Tim Rice, sings on a track, and a giant “TBA” makes us wonder if that’s the song Beyoncé, who is only listed once here, wrote for the film.


Here’s the song list:

1. “Circle of Life”/“Nants’ Ingonyama” – Performed by Lindiwe Mkhize; African vocals performed by Lebo M; written and composed by Elton John and Tim Rice; “Nants’ Ingonyama” written by Lebohang Morake and Hans Zimmer; produced by Hans Zimmer; vocals produced by Stephen Lipson 2. “Life’s Not Fair” – Hans Zimmer 3. “Rafiki’s Fireflies” – Hans Zimmer 4. “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” – Performed by JD McCrary, Shahadi Wright Joseph and John Oliver; written by Elton John and Tim Rice; produced by Pharrell Williams; co-produced by Stephen Lipson 5. “Elephant Graveyard” – Hans Zimmer 6. “Be Prepared” (2019 Version) – Performed by Chiwetel Ejiofor; written by Elton John and Tim Rice; produced by Hans Zimmer and David Fleming 7. “Stampede” – Hans Zimmer 8. “Scar Takes the Throne” – Hans Zimmer 9. “Hakuna Matata” – Performed by Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, JD McCrary and Donald Glover; written by Elton John and Tim Rice; produced by Pharrell Williams; co-produced by Stephen Lipson 10. “Simba is Alive!” – Hans Zimmer 11. “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” – Performed by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen; written by Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David Weiss and Solomon Linda; produced by Pharrell Williams 12. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” - Performed by Beyoncé, Donald Glover, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen; written by Elton John and Tim Rice; produced by Pharrell Williams; co-produced by Stephen Lipson 13. “Reflections of Mufasa” – Hans Zimmer 14. TBA 15. “Battle for Pride Rock” – Hans Zimmer 16. “Remember” – Hans Zimmer 17. “Never Too Late” – Performed by Elton John; African vocal and choir arrangements created and produced by Lebo M; written by Elton John and Tim Rice; produced by Greg Kurstin; additional production by Elton John and Matt Still 18. “He Lives in You” - Performed by Lebo M; written by Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin and Lebohang Morake; produced by Lebo M and Mark Mancina 19. “Mbube” - Performed by Lebo M; African vocal and choir arrangements created and produced by Lebo M; written by Solomon Linda; produced by Pharrell Williams

Hans Zimmer did the score for the film so those are all orchestral tracks, in case you were wondering. And “Never Too Late,” is specifically mentioned as being during the credits. As for Beyoncé, in a new interview with Fandango, Favreau said the following when asked about her song:

Yeah, it doesn’t replace anything. We have all the original songs, but there’s a song that she performed and wrote in the spirit of the production along with working with Lebo M., who’s part of it with Hans Zimmer. They were all collaborating with her and helping to bring this new piece of music into a film where there’s already a very established musical personality to the piece. So it was nice of them to have them working with her to allow the new song to feel organically a part of the new production.


Since he says she performs it and there isn’t another song she performs on there besides “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” the new song has got to be track 16, right? And if these songs are in order, since there’s Hans Zimmer score after it, is the song PART of the movie and not just over the credits? We do not know.

We’ll find out soon, though, as The Lion King opens July 19.

This article was edited with additional information about the placement of Never Too Late.


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