Gabrielle Union is bringing her talents to a new animated movie.
The Being Mary Jane star will voice the character Nala in the new Disney Channel movie, The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar.
“I’m well-versed in all things Lion King,” jokes Union, adding that she’s prone to reenacting the scene where Rafiki presents new-born Simba to the lion pride with her friends’ babies.
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The Lion Guard, a sequel to the 1994 animated movie The Lion King, follows Kion, the second-born cub of Simba and Nala as he assembles a diverse group of animal friends to help him maintain the Pride Lands. James Earl Jones will reprise his role as Mufasa and Rob Lowe voices Simba.
Union has seen several on-and-off Broadway productions of the movie, and now hopes to add her own twist to the new adaptation. “The movie as a whole [is] great family entertainment,” she says. “It’s very rare that kids and adults are going to be entertained by something. You’re still going to get all that great Lion King goodness but something new that no one has seen before.”
The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar premieres on Disney Channel this Sunday, Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.