KOVU AND VITANI AND NUKA IS IN THE LION GUARD

[Troll Berserker]

Brace yourselves, KionXVitani is coming.

[Squeely]

This is surprising news! But hold on just a second, if Jason Marsden is reprising Kovu, then that means Kovu has hit puberty already. Given Kiara is still a cub (albeit older since her interaction with Kovu), you would think Kovu still is one, too. Or will we see an adolescent Kovu similar to how adolescent Simba looked in 1½ (almost full-grown body but still noticeable cub facial features, but has his adult voice)?

It's a shame Jennifer Lien has retired, and ran into trouble with the law a few months ago, but Lacey Chabert is a good choice given she voiced cub Vitani. But who knows as of now, maybe Vitani is still a cub in this series.

Kovu should be a good ways into his teens. Hair tufts are a good, but subtle, measure of age. Kovu already had a hair tuft when he met Kiara in SP. TLG Kiara is significantly older than SP cub Kiara, and Kovu has a year or so on her.

SP cub Kiara seemed to be going out to play on her own for the first time, or the second or third time at the most. That would put her at roughly 5-6 years old. This is even exemplified by the almost baby-ish way she's drawn in a couple shots:

Meanwhile, in TLG, she's Kion's older sister. Kion already has a sizable hair tuft, so he's probably around 10-12, with Kiara in the range of 12-14. TLG Kovu, then, should be 15-16. These age estimates are of course based on how humans age. Vitani should also be a teen, and while cub Vitani's voice is pretty fitting for a teen as well, I'm sure Lacey can add a little bit of an older edge to it.

[Kion]

Amazing news!! It's a really long shot but maybe there's a small chance of a bit of new Kovu merch now as well?

[Braveheart]

Brace yourselves, KionXVitani is coming.

I can't wait for the new arrival of ships!

[Captain Cupcake]

TLG Kiara is significantly older than SP cub Kiara, and Kovu has a year or so on her.

If he was a year older, he'd be much bigger than her already. I mean, his age in SP already doesn't entirely make much sense when one thinks about it, but a full year would make the lack of an accurate size gap between them even more questionable. I wonder if they'll actually take the opportunity to patch up that whole weirdness. I get the feeling they'll probably keep TLKII as something that actually happens, but it'd a plus to see them softly retcon the whole "Chosen One" thing to undo any hint of Kovu (and, by extension of being probably littermates, Vitani) actually being around or being carried within Zira late in Scar's reign, fixing the age plot hole. They could basically revamp his backstory to just having Zira choosing her own second son to be the "rightful heir."

Also, Kiara and Kion still makes much more sense as littermates, with her being the one who popped out first and Kion coming second, hence the whole "older" and "younger" sibling dynamic. It'd be even more wonkier than the age discrepancy between Kovu and Kiara if it were any other way.

[Elton John]

http://i.imgur.com/K70v13r.jpg

If multiple sources weren't enough, we have confirmation from jason marsden himself.

[Marizzle]

This surprised me so much! I was not expecting any of them to appear on TLG, not even as guest stars! Can't wait to see Kovu! <3
Still, it's a shame they're just guest stars...it kind of "neutralizes" the possibility of having merchandise that features them (I wanted a Kovu plushie!).

[Captain Cupcake]

Still, it's a shame they're just guest stars...it kind of "neutralizes" the possibility of having merchandise that features them (I wanted a Kovu plushie!).

Do not underestimate the power of merchandising. If there is milking to be made, their plushies will see the light of day.

[Marizzle]

Do not underestimate the power of merchandising. If there is milking to be made, their plushies will see the light of day.

That's true...I hope they do!

[Lyonize]

I was skeptical since none of the articles said where they got that information. I passed it off as a rumor so I tweeted Jason Marsden.

https://twitter.com/JasonMarsden/status ... 9156274176

CONFIRMED