Elton John to score new Lion King song with Tim Rice

Iconic singer is currently preparing for his farewell tour

Elton John is teaming up with theatre legend Tim Rice to work on the soundtrack for the upcoming live action remake of The Lion King.

The duo previously worked together on Disney's 1994 animated version, earning a Best Song Oscar for "Can You Feel the Love Tonight".

Speaking to The Sun, John confirmed he will return to the studio with Rice to record a new song for the end credits, which may feature vocals from Beyonce, who is voicing Nala in the film.

"They need a new end credits song," John said. "There's going to be four of our songs in the film from the original: 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight', 'Hakuna Matata', 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King' and 'Circle of Life'.

"And then there will be an end, closing song, and we've been speaking to Beyonce's people and hopefully Tim and I can cook her up something. That's going out in 2018 as well. And it will be great to work with her. So we will see."

Disney's reboot of The Lion King is expected for release in 2019, and features a stellar voice cast including Donald Glover, John Oliver, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, Beyonce, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and James Earl Jones, who will reprise his role as Mufasa from the animated film.

John added: "I've seen a little bit of the opening of it, which is amazing. Jon Favreau is directing it, he did an amazing job on The Jungle Book.

Elton John is currently preparing for a huge "Farewell Tour" which he says will be his final series of shows before retirement.

Announcing the decision during a press conference in New York, John said his priorities had changed and he wanted to spend more time with his children, his husband and his family.

He plans to continue making records and releasing music after he finishes his final live tour dates.

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