The Walt Disney Studios has a lot to celebrate. Descending on Anaheim, California for the biennial D23 event from August 9-11, Disney’s marathon presentation of its upcoming slate featured a few big names in music.
The House of Mouse has enlisted some of the music industry’s biggest names to lend their voices, talents, and star power to their upcoming projects.
Here’s a look at seven musicians confirmed to be a part of Disney’s upcoming film lineup:
Nine Inch Nails
Nine Inch Nails, led by Trent Reznor and his longtime collaborator Atticus Ross, are set to compose the score for the upcoming film Tron: Ares.
The announcement was made during a teaser for the sci-fi sequel at Disney’s D23 event where Reznor and Ross, who are the musical minds behind films like The Social Network and Soul, revealed this project marks the first time their film music will be credited under the Nine Inch Nails name.
Tron: Ares is the sequel to 2010’s Tron: Legacy, where Daft Punk were given the honours on the soundtrack back in 2010.
Jared Leto
The Thirty Seconds to Mars frontman stars alongside Evan Peters, Jeff Bridges, Greta Lee, and Jodie Turner-Smith in the upcoming film Tron: Ares.
Jared Leto takes on the role of Ares, a digital Program sent on a mission to break into the real world. Joining him is Lee as Eve Kim, a genius programmer whose groundbreaking work paves the way for Ares’ crossover into reality. Peters steps into the role of Julian Dillinger, a character who shares a surname with the original villain from the 1982 Tron film, hinting at connections to the franchise’s roots.
Known for their cinematic music videos and epic soundscapes, Thirty Seconds to Mars has always blurred the lines between music, film, and science.
Who could forget the band’s partnership with NASA for their album Love, Lust, Faith and Dreams in 2013? The band launched the first copy of the single “Up in the Air” aboard the Dragon spacecraft on SpaceX CRS-2. The mission was launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket on March 1, 2013.
Leto will head Down Under next month. Thirty Seconds To Mars are taking the SEASONS WORLD TOUR across Australia from September 12-19.
Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter is channeling the voice of Nala once again for the next Lion King instalment, Mufasa: The Lion King.
Set to feature new original songs helmed by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Mark Mancina for the soundtrack, Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins says the music will bring a fresh energy to the iconic Lion King legacy.
“Audiences can expect so many things in this film: An epic story, comedy with plenty of familiar faces, some absolutely hilarious and some with extreme gravitas, new songs — all new songs — they’re handcuffing me I can’t tell you who made those songs, but I promise you, the songs are absolutely amazing,” Jenkins said.
Acting as the prequel to the 2019 remake, Disney says, “the all-new story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka.”
The film is set to hit theatres on December 20, 2024
Check out the trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King
Blue Ivy Carter
Beyoncé’s 12 year old daughter Blue Ivy Carter will make her acting debut this December in the aforementioned, and much-teased, live action Disney film, Mufasa.
The oldest of Beyonce and Jay-Z’s children will voice the role of Kiara, the daughter of King Simba and Queen Nala.
Blue Ivy has been collaborating with Beyoncé since before she could walk. in 2012 she became the youngest person ever to appear on a Billboard chart thanks to her appearance on “Glory”. She also featured in the visuals for “Blue”, “Formation” and two tracks for the The Lion King: The Gift album in 2019, “Spirit” and “Bigger”.
Four years ago, Blue Ivy took home a BET Her Award, at age eight, for her work on “Brown Skin Girl”. The honour made her the youngest winner in the show’s history.
A year later in 2021, she became the second-youngest Grammy winner ever when she and Beyoncé won the Best Music Video award for “Brown Skin Girl”.
Donald Glover
Reprising his role as the voice of Simba in Mufasa: The Lion King, Donald Glover will once again explore Simba’s story. Despite the instalment being pitched as a prequel, the addition of Blue Ivy Carter set to voice Simba’s daughter points to some continuation from 2019’s The Lion King: The Gift.
Glover has always held roots in both the film and music industries. Outside of his Grammy-winning, chart-topping music alter ego, Childish Gambino, Glover’s film credits include: Atlanta, Community, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Lin-Manuel Miranda
Multi-award-winning songwriter, actor, filmmaker, rapper and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda may be renowned for his brilliant work as the creator of Hamilton, but he’s also signed on as co-writer of the soundtrack for Mufasa: The Lion King.
Making his debut at Disney D23 last week, Miranda helped close the studio’s showcase, joining director Barry Jenkins onstage in Anaheim, California.
The closing showcase for Mufasa featured Lebo M (most famous for arranging and performing the music for the original Lion King) performing the iconic “Nants’ Ingonyama” alongside a full choir, before a special look was screened at a sequence from the film featuring new song, “I Always Wanted a Brother”.
Co-produced alongside Mark Mancina, with additional music and performances by Lebo M, the soundtrack features original new recordings.
Lindsay Lohan
Though best known for her film career, Lindsay Lohan did have an impactful, albeit brief, impact on the charts in the early 2000s thanks to her debut album Speak. The album was a commercial success in 2004, debuting at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and achieving Platinum certification.
Now, Lohan is reprising her role as Anna alongside Jamie Lee Curtis in the D23-announced sequel to Freaky Friday.
Freakier Friday, set to hit theatres in 2025, is directed by Nisha Ganatra and produced by Kristin Burr, Andrew Gunn, and Curtis. Nathan Kelly, Ann Marie Sanderlin, and Lohan serve as executive producers.
The film revisits Tess (Curtis) and Anna (Lohan) years after their original identity-swapping adventure. This time, Anna is a mother with a daughter and a soon-to-be stepdaughter.
The film also stars Mark Harmon, Chad Michael Murray, Christina Vidal Mitchell, Haley Hudson, Lucille Soong, Stephen Tobolowsky, and Rosalind Chao.
“It’s more fun, it’s more emotional, and it’s all for you guys,” Lohan told the audience during Disney’s Entertainment Showcase. “Seriously, the only reason we are back here doing this because of your love. That is why.”
