Disney's New Lion King Movie Brings on "Catch Me If You Can" Writer

Disney has hired Hollywood veteran Jeff Nathanson to write the screenplay for its reimagining of the animated classic, The Lion King, according to a report today from Deadline.

This follows the news from earlier this month that Iron-Man and The Jungle Book director Jon Favreau would direct the film, which doesn't have an official title or release date yet. Disney has said the movie is being "fast-tracked," though it's not exactly clear what that means.

Nathanson wrote the script for Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can and also contributed to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, among other films.

The new Lion King has big shoes to fill, as the original made more than $968 million at the box office and won multiple Academy Awards, in addition to a pair of Grammy Awards for its soundtrack.

Disney brought The Lion King to the stage, where it's won six Tony Awards. The stage play is still on the circuit in cities around the world. According to Disney, "The Lion King's worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show, or other entertainment title in box office history."

Disney has been ramping up its production of live-action versions of animated classics of late. Some other recent examples include Maleficent, Cinderella, and most recently, The Jungle Book. In addition to The Lion King, Disney is producing a live-action Beauty and the Beast movie starring Emma Watson.

Like Beauty and the Beast, which is due out in 2017, The Lion King reimagining will include songs from the original, though these have not been specified.