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

6. Timon (Billy Crystal)

The Lion King Liam Neeson
Columbia Pictures

No stranger to lending his pipes to Disney productions, Billy Crystal would be operating in familiar territory should he be chosen to help bring Timon to life in the Lion King remake. After voicing Mike Wazowski in Pixar's Monsters Inc. series, he's proven he can imbue an animated character with bags of wit, charm and energy, three traits that match Timon's incredibly exuberant personality.

Timon is enthusiastic to a fault - when he's used as bait for the hyenas, he chooses to dress up in colourful drag and dance the hula while singing about bacon, going as far as dressing his friend Pumbaa up with an apple and some garnish. 'Energetic' is a gross understatement here, and Crystal's voice - and mannerisms - perfectly fit the meerkat's ability to find the humour in everything.

Chances Of It Happening

As previously mentioned, Crystal's already a big player in the Disney space with his performance in Monsters Inc, so it's not a huge leap to connect him with The Lion King. Combine that with his talent and practically clear schedule, and he's almost certainly going to be in the mix.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.