Director Barry Jenkins teases that his upcoming prequel, Mufasa: The Lion King is more than just a prequel to the 2019 remake.
Back in 2019, The Lion King was released in theaters to somewhat mixed reception from audiences and critics. Despite this, the film earned over $1.6 billion worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing film of the year. The following year, it was revealed that a new film in the franchise was in development, which ultimately turned out to be a prequel that would focus on the rise of Mufasa and his brother Scar.
The prequel would end up casting Aaron Pierre as Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Scar, with his official title being revealed during this year’s D23. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, the director said that while the movie was technically a prequel to the movie, he also said something else was going on with the timeline:
“I think you’ll see a ton of familiar faces. It’s a prequel, but again, it’s a prequel in the sense that it’s all the same characters, but we tell you how they came to be who they are. So we are literally stepping back. We go back in time with a lot of these characters. We are also in the present, but we also come back to say who these characters were.
Here is the synopsis by Jon Favreau The Lion King:
Director Jon Favreau’s all-new ‘The Lion King’ travels to the African savannah where a future king is born. Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes his own royal destiny to heart. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the arrival of the new little one. Scar, Mufasa’s brother and former heir to the throne, has his own plans. The battle for Pride Rock is wracked with betrayal, tragedy, and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba’s exile. With the help of a pair of curious new friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.
Directed by Jon Favreau, Disney’s The Lion King features the voice talents of Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, James Earl Jones as Mufasa, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, and Billy Eichner as Timon.
by Disney The Lion King is available on Digital HD, Blu-ray, 4K Ultra HD and DVD. Meanwhile Mufasa: The Lion King will be released in 2024. Stay tuned for all the latest franchise news and be sure to subscribe to the Heroic Hollywood YouTube channel for more original video content.
