Beyonce joins Disney's live-action 'The Lion King'     

LOS ANGELES - AFP

The 36-year-old pop megastar confirmed the long-rumored role in a Facebook post that showed headshots of the voice cast, also revealing that Keegan-Michael Key will be playing a hyena named Kamari.

Alongside Beyonce, and mostly previously announced, will be Donald Glover as Simba, James Earl Jones reprising his role in the 1994 animated movie as Mufasa, and Chiwetel Ejiofor as his nemesis Scar.

Comedian John Oliver was confirmed as Zazu, while other big names in the production, set for release in July 2019, include Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner.

"It is a director's dream to assemble a talented team like this to bring this classic story to life," said director Jon Favreau, who helmed Disney's hit live-action remake of "The Jungle Book" (2016), in a statement confirming the cast.

The production will build on Disney's hugely lucrative reimagining of that movie and several other classics from its vaults, including "Beauty and the Beast," "Maleficent" and "Cinderella," for contemporary audiences.

"The Lion King" is one of the biggest animated films of all time, with a lifetime global box-office gross of just under $1 billion. 

It won Oscars for the song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" by Elton John and Tim Rice, and for its score by Hans Zimmer, plus two Grammy Awards, with the soundtrack selling more than 14 million copies.

The stage production made its Broadway debut in 1997 and went on to win six Tony Awards.

Translated into eight languages, the film's 23 global stage productions have been seen by more than 85 million people.