Beyonce has assembled an A-list line-up for her film Black is King. The surprise project arrived on Disney+ today (31 July) and includes a bevy of notable and familiar faces.
Pharrell, Naomi Campbell, Lupita N’yongo, Kelly Rowland, Tina Knowles-Lawson, husband Jay-Z and eight-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter all appear in the star’s visual album.
Since its release, the film has received critical acclaim, as well as praise from fans on social media. The hashtag #BlackIsKing is trending on Twitter with nearly 350,000 tweets at the time of writing.
Beyonce shared multiple trailers for Black is King in the lead-up to today’s release.
The film reimagines the lessons of The Lion King for “today’s young kings and queens in search of their own crowns”. It was scheduled to premiere on 31 July to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the 2019 live-action adaptation by Jon Favreau in which Beyonce voiced Nala.
Black is King is written, executive-produced and co-directed by Beyonce, who made it alongside filmmaker and musician Blitz Bazawule. It includes full-length videos for the songs “Already”, “Brown Skin Girl”, “Mood 4 Eva” and “My Power”.
Scenes for the highly-anticipated album were shot around the world including New York, Los Angeles, South Africa, West Africa, London and Belgium.