The Lion King live action movie is a go.

At Walt Disney, the circle of life for nearly every property involves the symbiotic cycle that triangulates between animation, live action, and live theatre. Regardless of where a story may debut on that triad, if it reaches a reasonable level of success and pop culture saturation it will eventually be told through the other two.

After the popular and critical embrace of the live action Jungle Book this past spring, its director Jon Favreau announced via Twitter and Facebook that Disney has given him the go to apply the same technology to a live action Lion King.

Click here to read the official statement from Walt Disney Studios.

Clearly, this means the vision will not be a variation on the Tony winning (and long running) stage version that utilized puppetry but, rather, a full-fledged photo-real take.

No voice talent has been announced, so it remains to be seen if any of the original cast will reprise their roles.

Favreau also remains at the helm of The Jungle Book 2, and no release dates for that or the live action Lion King have been set. Don’t be surprised if Favreau’s The Lion King ends up being slated for 2019, which will mark the original’s 25th Anniversary.