Disney revealed more details on their upcoming live-action The Lion King prequel led by Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre as Mufasa and Scar.
During Walt Disney Studios’ panel at D23 Expo on Friday, Barry Jenkins- who is attached to direct — revealed that the film will be titled Mufasa: the Lion King. It will debut in theaters in 2024.
The prequel will tell the story reportedly be told in two different time frames, as Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, and tell the origin story of Mufasa to a new cub, whilst we see Mufasa rise to royalty.
Mufasa: the Lion King will be based on the 2019 version of the film rather than the 1994 animated version.
Jeff Nathanson, who scripted the last installment, is back to tell the beginning story.
Harrison Jr. will portray Scar, whose birth-name is Taka and Pierre is set to play Mufasa. With Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen confirmed to return as Timon and Pumbaa.
This project reunites Pierre with Jenkins, as they worked together on Amazon’s historical TV series The Underground Railroad.
More details on the film and casting are still underwraps, but after the success of the live-action Lion King, which grossed $1.6 billion at the global box office — overtaking Frozen to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time, Disney has been eager for this prequel. Hans Zimmer (who scored the original and 2019 version), Pharrell, and Succession’s Nicholas Britell will score The Lion Kign prequel.
Additional casting is in the works and if it is anything like the 2019 box-office hit, this project will have some big names attached to it.
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The recent remake, directed by Jon Favreau, cast Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen and as Timon and Pumbaa and James Earl Jones as Mufasa. Jeff Nathanson, who wrote the screenplay for the 2019 movie, is returning to write the follow-up.
Jenkins’ PASTEL partners Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak are producing with Disney.
