The Lion Guard

The Lion Guard is an upcoming American animated television series that will premiere with a one-hour movie in November 2015 followed by a television series on Disney Junior in January 2016. It will feature Kion, the son of Simba.

Premise
The Lion Guard follows Simba's son, Kion, as he assembles a group of animals to protect the Pride Lands known as the Lion Guard. Disney Junior general manager Nancy Kanter has described the series as being "kind of like The Lion King meets The Avengers."

Characters

 * Kion (pronounced Kie-unn) - the young son of Simba and Nala who assembles a group of animals to protect the Pride Lands
 * Simba (Rob Lowe) - the king of the Pride Lands, and the father of Kion and Kiara
 * Nala (Gabrielle Union) the queen of the Pride Lands, and the mother of Kion and Kiara
 * Kiara - the future queen of the Pride Lands, and the older sister of Kion
 * Rafiki (Khary Payton) - the adviser of the Pride Lands
 * Zazu - the majordomo of the Pride Lands
 * Timon (Kevin Schon) - a meerkat who is the childhood friend of Simba
 * Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella) - a warthog who is the childhood friend of Simba
 * Mufasa (James Earl Jones) - the father of Simba who died in the original film
 * Bunga (pronounced Boon-guh) - a ratel who is part of the Lion Guard
 * Fuli (pronounced Few-lee) - a cheetah who is part of the Lion Guard
 * Beshte (pronounced Besh-tay) - a hippopotamus who is part of the Lion Guard
 * Ono - an egret who is part of the Lion Guard
 * Mzingo (pronounced Zing-oh)
 * Zuri (pronounced Zoo-ree)

Development
The series' announcement came after a meeting between Disney Junior general manager Nancy Kanter and Disney chief executive Robert Iger. Iger suggested to Kanter that Disney Junior should consider producing content to celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Lion King in 2014. Disney has shown early footage to young test audiences, who were able to make suggestions, such as adjusting the look of the hyenas. Disney Consumer Products is to launch a line of toys to tie into the television series.

At least five book titles based on the series are planned for release in January 2016: Kion, Pride of the Pridelands, Can't Wait To Be Queen, Bunga's Big Adventure, Meet the New Guard and Kion's Animal Alphabet.