Disney's The Lion King Remake: Casting All 10 Major Roles

8. Sarabi (Viola Davis)

Amanda Waller Suicide Squad
Warner Bros.

No matter what character she plays or what type of movie she appears in - be it Suicide Squad or The Help - Viola Davis practically oozes authority.

And Sarabi - Simba's mother - could do with a sizeable helping of that. While her role isn't huge, she has a key moment toward the end of The Lion King wherein she faces up to Scar and criticizes him for his poor leadership. It takes real guts and real passion to show that amount of bravery and stand up to the fledgling king and his entourage of hyenas, and Davis could bring these qualities to the role with ease - she'd practically be playing herself!

Chances Of It Happening

Whenever you think 'mother figure' it's hard not to think of Viola Davis, so there's a good chance that Favreau and his casting team are doing the same. In terms of scheduling, she doesn't have much on her plate (barring any as-yet unannounced DC roles or Suicide Squad sequels) and with a potentially Oscar-winning turn in the upcoming Fences still to come, capitalizing on that buzz seems smart.

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Contributor

Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!