Disney CEO Bob Iger has been vocal about the studio’s commitment to “creating a new era of storytelling” in the animated feature The Lion King, and the movie is being praised for its story and the music by composer Justin Marks.
Iger made the comments during a live panel discussion at the Disney/Pixar Animation Studios’ press event, held during the annual meeting of the Walt Disney Co. This year’s event also saw the studio unveil the first trailer for the film.
Iger, who is on a five-year contract, did not offer much in the way of details about the movie, which is scheduled to open in 2019.
It’s the second installment in the trilogy, which also features Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Tigger.
The original animated feature was a hit for Disney in 2006, with a box office gross of $3.1 billion.
But it was not a hit with critics.
The movie had a disappointing 74 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics describing it as “just a mediocre movie.”
Marking his first film with the Walt Hollywood Studios, Marks is one of the most prolific composers working in animation today, with his credits including the Pixar movies Finding Nemo and Up.
He recently worked with Disney on the Disney-Pixarmagic animated feature, Cars 2, and he has also worked on films like Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the animated comedy Despicable Me 2.
Disney also produced the film The Lion Guard, which marks the first of four Disney-owned animated films, with Marks also producing and co-writing.
Disney also announced that the film will be distributed by Walt Disney Studios.
Marked as one of Disney’s biggest hits in the past few years, the Lion King grossed $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing animated film of all time.
It also set the bar for animated films in terms of both budget and production.
The film earned more than $3 billion in ticket sales worldwide, and it will be available on home video and digital platforms in 2019, just as Disney is doing with The Lion Kingdom.
Marking Marks first Disney film, Marks said that he had a long career in music and that he is looking forward to returning to it.
“I’ve always loved music and have loved to work on animated feature films and music, so I’m really excited to bring the music to a new cinematic experience that I think is a great movie,” Marks said.
“The Lion Kingdom” will be the first animated feature Disney has made since 2009’s Mulan, which was a critical and commercial failure.
It cost $250 million to produce, grossed only $130 million domestically, and was one of a handful of animated films to fail to make money at the box office.
Disney did make a profit on the film, with $2.8 billion in global ticket sales.
Igers statement comes as Disney continues to look to broaden its film portfolio, and Marks said he hopes to work with Disney to create a more “authentic, creative story” for his work.