Hollywood Records in conjunction with 
National Geographic announce the release today of LION—Original Series Soundtrack featuring music by legendary Academy Award®-winning composer Hans Zimmer who leads the score, alongside Emmy-winning and GRAMMY®- and BAFTA-nominated Bleeding Fingers Music’s Niccolò Pacella and George Hutson Warren, with additional vocals from the Nairobi Chamber Chorus. Produced by Bleeding Fingers’ Russell Emanuel, the thrilling score incorporates soaring orchestra, propulsive percussion and Maasai singers that strikingly augment the emotional real-life drama. Lion debuted on National Geographic August 19 and is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
“From the beginning, we wanted the score for LION to feel as though it emerged from the landscape and the lives at the heart of the story. Our score is built upon a foundation of sounds that we captured in Kenya, spanning from field recordings of Maasai singers and the natural ambience of the Mara to local instruments, the voices of the Nairobi Chamber Chorus, and even a ‘Lion bass’ created from the sound of a lion’s roar. As Kio’s journey unfolds from a vulnerable cub to a powerful king, the score evolves with him, with his theme growing from something intimate and gentle into something broader and more powerful, supported by the voices of his brotherhood and the emotional presence of his mother. It was an extraordinary privilege to contribute to a story so deeply rooted in place, and to create a musical language that reflects both the intimacy of Kio’s family and the epic scale of his journey.” – Hans Zimmer, Niccolò Pacella and George Hutson Warren
LION, an emotional, real-life drama that chronicles the remarkable four-year journey of a tiny lion cub named Kio as he becomes a king. LION is executive produced by Disney Legend and “The Lion King” live-action director Jon Favreau and BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s Creative director Mike Gunton (“Planet Earth II,” “Dynasties”).
Track Listing
- Main Theme
- Kio’s Adventure
- Out of the Den
- Paradise
- Buffalo Hunt
- Winter’s Death
- A New Dawn
- Summer Hunts Alone
- First Kill
- Father Son Bonding
- Curious Kio
- An Uncertain Future
- Mother & Son Reunited
- The Youngest Brother
- Hyenas
- The Rains Come
- Band of Brothers
- Banishing the Brotherhood
- Summer’s Choice
- For the Sake of Kio
- Chapter 3
- Lost
- Mischief
- Hunting Lessons
- Warthog Hunt
- Entering the Marsh
- Meeting the Females
- Feline Flirting
- Marsh Pride Males
- Kio Alone
- Showdown
ABOUT HANS ZIMMER
Hans Zimmer has scored more than 500 projects across all mediums, which combined grossed over $30 billion at the worldwide box office. He has been honored with two Academy Awards®, three Golden Globes®, five Grammys®, an American Music Award, seven Emmy ® nominations and a Tony® nomination.
Zimmer’s career highlights include Dune: Part One, Dune: Part Two, Interstellar, Top Gun: Maverick, No Time to Die, Gladiator, The Thin Red Line, As Good as It Gets, Rain Man, The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Thelma & Louise, The Last Samurai, 12 Years a Slave, Blade Runner 2049 (co-scored with Benjamin Wallfisch) and Dunkirk. He also scored David Attenborough’s Prehistoric Planet and Joseph Kosinski’s F1, the highest-grossing sports film of all time, which earned him a Golden Globe® nomination. Upcoming, Zimmer will score the third part in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise, releasing December 18, and HBO’s Harry Potter series, releasing December 25.
His concert film Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert was released in cinemas worldwide in 2025. It features live performances of Zimmer’s most revered compositions, as well as conversations with his closest collaborators, including Billie Eilish, Sir Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, Finneas, Jerry Bruckheimer, Johnny Marr, Pharrell Williams, Tanya Lapointe, Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.
Beyond his award-winning compositions, Zimmer is a remarkably successful touring artist. He recently concluded the North American and European legs of his “Hans Zimmer Live” tours and will bring the show to Asia and Australia this fall. He has also performed in the Middle East, including two consecutive nights at Dubai’s renowned Coca-Cola Arena, as well as at Formula 1’s Singapore Grand Prix.
ABOUT NICCOLÒ PACELLA
Niccolò Pacella is an Italian composer who has established himself as a talented musician across visual arts and interactive media. Blending synthesis with the sounds of the orchestra, his style varies from intimate string arrangements and oneiric, dreamlike textures to powerful cinematic orchestrations.
As part of the Emmy®-winning and BAFTA®-nominated composer collective Bleeding Fingers Music, Niccolò has contributed to a wide range of projects, including The Simpsons, Apple TV+’s Prehistoric Planet (Primetime Emmy®-nominated) and Baz Luhrmann’s Faraway Downs. Other credits include Minecraft Live (2024, 2025), Journey to You (Hallmark), The Americas (NBC), BBC’s Julius Caesar: The Making of a Dictator and My Norwegian Holiday for Hallmark.
Niccolò graduated from Berklee College of Music, where he was awarded the prestigious Georges Delerue Memorial Scholarship—the highest honor granted by the Film Scoring Department. Before relocating to the U.S., Niccolò refined his craft at Rome’s iconic Forum Studios.
ABOUT GEORGE HUTSON WARREN
George Hutson Warren is a Los Angeles–based, classically trained composer for film and media and an in-house composer at the Emmy®-winning, BAFTA®-nominated collective, Bleeding Fingers Music. His work blends modern and classical influences, often pairing unconventional synthetic textures with traditional orchestral ensembles.
George’s recent credits include Our Oceans (additional music, Netflix), Solar Opposites (additional music, Hulu/Fox), Mafia Mamma (additional music, Hulu), The Regime (orchestration, HBO/Max) and Shardlake (orchestration, Disney+).
Previously, George worked closely with Golden Globe-nominated composer Alex Heffes as an additional music writer and orchestrator. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance from the Eastman School of Music and a Master’s degree in Music Theory and Composition – Screen Scoring from NYU Steinhardt School of Music.
ABOUT DISNEY MUSIC GROUP
Disney Music Group (DMG) spearheads The Walt Disney Company’s global music ventures, encompassing recorded music, publishing, and live concerts. As the home of iconic labels like Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, DMG boasts an extensive portfolio that includes soundtracks from some of the most beloved franchises in entertainment—Disney, Walt Disney Animation, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, Pixar, Searchlight Pictures, 20th Century Studios, and Disney+.
A trailblazer in the industry, DMG releases award-winning and chart-topping albums, including the Grammy®-winning Encanto, the Oscar®-winning Frozen, and the fan-favorite Guardians of the Galaxy mixtapes. Its rich legacy extends to celebrated compositions from The Mandalorian, iconic scores like Soul (Oscar® and Grammy® winner), Black Panther, Coco, and Moana, as well as hit video games such as Spider-Man 2, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (Grammy® winner), and Star Wars Outlaws.
Recent releases include Camp Rock 3, Toy Story 5, Moana Live Action and Moana: Voices Across the Ocean executive produced by Dwayne Johnson, Avatar: Fire and Ash, Zootopia 2, Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, Lilo & Stitch, alongside television soundtracks for Shōgun, Only Murders in the Building, Zombies, Descendants and Camp Rock franchises. Looking ahead, DMG is set to unveil highly anticipated soundtracks for Behemoth!, Avengers: Doomsday, Hexed, Wild Horse Nine, Whalefall and LION, as well as video games such as Marvel’s Wolverine.
With a catalog spanning over eight decades, DMG’s music has become a cornerstone of global pop culture. From timeless classics like Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, and Mary Poppins to modern epics such as Avatar and The Lion King, DMG’s repertoire continues to define cinematic music history.
Through Disney Concerts, DMG enchants audiences worldwide, producing and licensing thousands of live performances such as Descendants/Zombies/Camp Rock: Worlds Collide Tour, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet Film in Concert, Star Wars in Concert, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney on Classic, Pixar in Concert, Waiting to Exhale, and Marvel’s Infinity Saga. These spectacular productions celebrate the music that has shaped storytelling for generations.
DMG also leads in music innovation and discovery with curated playlists, its dedicated SiriusXM station (Channel 133), and the Disney Music Emporium (www.disneymusicemporium.com), an online hub for exclusive vinyl and collector’s editions.
Beyond soundtracks, DMG represents a dynamic roster of artists and songwriters, including Queen (in the U.S. and Canada), Andy Grammer, Sofia Carson, TINI, almost monday, Freya Skye, Joywave, little image, Adrian Lyles, Hudson Stone, Dewain Whitmore, Tony Ferrari, Lenii, Paris Carney, Rose Tan, and others.
Setting the gold standard in music and entertainment, Disney Music Group remains at the heart of the soundtrack to our lives, inspiring and connecting audiences across generations.
ABOUT NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CONTENT
Representing one of the largest brands on social media with over 800 million followers and over one billion impressions each month, National Geographic Content’s award-winning and critically acclaimed storytelling inspires fans of all ages to connect with, explore and care about the world through factual storytelling. National Geographic Content, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, reaches up to 402 million households in at least 170 countries and 30 languages across the global National Geographic channels (National Geographic Channel, Nat GeoWILD, Nat Geo MUNDO), National Geographic Documentary Films, and streaming services Disney+ and Hulu, in addition to being a global digital, social and print publisher. Its diverse content includes Oscar® and BAFTA Award-winning film “Free Solo”; Oscar-nominated films “Sugarcane, ” “Fire of Love,” “Bobi Wine: The People’s President” and “The Cave”; Emmy® Award-winning franchises “Race Against Time”and “Secrets of”; Emmy Award-winning series “Animals Up Close” and “Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller”; and Emmy-nominated series “A Real Bug’s Life” and “Tucci in Italy, ” in addition to multiple National Magazine Awards, Pulitzer Prize finalists and Webby wins.
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