There was - warning, we're going there with the pun – something of an uproar (told you) last month when the news broke that Jungle Book* re-imagining director Jon Favreau would be setting his sights on another Disney classic, *The Lion King. Now we know who will be writing the script for the new project: Jeff Nathanson.
He's lent his scriptwriting abilities to films such as Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, Tower Heist and Rush Hour 2, in addition to a long list of work, both credited and not, as a screenplay doctor for hire.
Nathanson will be tackling the challenging of converting one of Disney's best-loved 'toons into... well, no one has quite said what Favreau's version will be yet, though we'd expect the same CG-heavy approach (just no human characters), as with the director's last job. And the movie will feature songs from the original, albeit likely given a new spin a la the Jungle Book's tunes.
The film has yet to lock in a release date. Nathanson's most recent gig for the Mouse House was as the writer of the latest Pirates Of The Caribbean movie, known here as Salazar's Revenge. That one will dock in UK cinemas on 26 May next year.