Los Angeles, CA – While The Lemon prides ourselves on covering live auto news, we sometimes get suckered into the allure of Hollywood. If we’re lucky, we will occasionally have an opportunity to combine both our passions: overpriced cars and overpriced movies.
We lucked out. Back on November 22nd, Disney released a trailer for their upcoming, live-action version of the beloved movie, “The Lion King.” We saw brief glimpses of Simba and Rafiki, and we know that we’ll eventually see images of favorites like Mufasa, Scar, and Timon & Pumbaa. While you’ll be looking out for those historic characters, you might also want to keep an eye on some of the new characters that are being added to the franchise.
The Lemon has received exclusive, inside information that the movie will feature a group of new villains: The Tourists.
As our source told us, these characters will be played by real-life actors, and the group will primarily consist of upper-middle-class white and Asian actors. Disney has also teamed up with Jeep to create Lion King-themed safari vehicles that will be featured heavily in the film.
“We really wanted to replicate a real-life African safari,” said director Jon Favreau. “What better way to depict that region than sticking in some rich, yuppy tourists? These characters won’t only have a small cameo. Rather, they’ll be playing an integral role in the movie.”
The Lemon even got an exclusive look at one of The Tourists’ scenes in the upcoming movie. [WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD] Following Mufasa’s death, a young Simba attempts to wake up his deceased father. The Tourists quickly zoom up in their Lion King-inspired Jeep, with one of the characters (played by Dave Coulier) running up to admire and take a selfie with the adolescent lion.
Another scene shows The Tourists gawking at Simba and Nala while the pair is having some awkward lion-sex. Audiences will surely love the reactions of the kid actor from Young Sheldon, who asks his parents if they can go back to their five-star resort.
“We’re predicting that The Tourists will be the break-out stars of the live-action Lion King,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger. “We’ve already started selling plush versions of the characters, and we’re anticipating fan-demand for a Tourists-themed ride at Disney World.”
The company is so confident in The Tourists’ popularity, they’ve already planned a sequel to the upcoming film… “The Lion King 2: The Tourists Have Guns.” Disney is also planning an animated cartoon that focuses primarily on The Tourists, and there are rumors that the Broadway show may look to slide the characters into their long-running production.
Jeep is also optimistic about the characters’ prospects. Their Lion King-inspired Jeep was inserted into the movie as a meta, millennial-appealing nod, and the car brand is expected to make the vehicle available at some point in 2019.
“Everyone in the world loves Lion King, and everyone in the world loves Jeep,” said the company’s CEO, Sergio Marchionne. “What better way to celebrate these two beloved names than combining them in one vehicle?”
The Jeep will be painted in a corn-colored yellow, and the vehicle will be covered in stickers depicting the animated characters from the 1994 film.
Surely everyone’s excited for the upcoming Disney film. Now, Jeep and nature-hating fans will have another reason to anticipate the movie’s release.
Lion King is set to be released on July 19th, 2019.
