Jon Favreau confirms James Earl Jones is just fine, despite his absence from Lion King promotions

While there has been an understandably exorbitant amount of focus placed on the presence of some (go ahead and insert Tiffany “New York” Pollard’s “Beyonce?!” meme here), the absence of James Earl Jones from recent Lion King promotions was not only heavily noted, but a point of concern for some fans. The 88-year-old veteran actor with the legendary booming voice that gave Mufasa (very brief) life was not only missing from the recently released promotional images, but skipped Tuesday’s world premiere. In an attempt to quell any potential distress, director Jon Favreau responded to budding health-related rumors by telling USA Today that Jones is just fine, he just…lives far away.