Walt Disney Photos introduced the Delight Lands to Sin Metropolis. The studio unveiled footage of “Mufasa: The Lion King” at their CinemaCon panel this Monday, showcasing Barry Jenkins’ prequel of the 2019 “Lion King” remake.
Jenkins accompanied the movie to Las Vegas at CinemaCon, and he defined to the gang, “what the director of ‘Moonlight’ is doing right here to inform me about an 8-quadrant legacy movie.” Effectively, he mentioned making it was “among the best choices I ever made in my life.”
A photorealistic CGI movie within the vein of the 2019 movie, “Mufasa: The Lion King” will deal with the ascension of Mufasa (voiced within the prequel by “The Underground Railroad” star Aaron Pierre) to the ruler of the Delight Lands. Kelvin Harrison Jr. will even star as Scar, together with Seth Rogan, Billy Eichner, and John Kani all reprising their roles from the 2019 “Lion King” as Pumbaa, Timon, and Raifiki, respectively.
Jenkins mentioned “Mufasa” is a “very private movie” for him and that he’s seen the unique animated “The Lion King” over 200 occasions as he was babysitting his nephews after they had been at a younger age. The script for the movie reminded him of what younger folks do with their feelings and “how they will change into nice the best way they’re.”
However he added that whereas “Moonlight” was a small movie with an enormous coronary heart, “Mufasa” is “this can be a huge fucking movie, and it was my job to fill it with huge coronary heart.”
We solely noticed a teaser from the movie, nevertheless it seems to be markedly completely different from the live-action remake that performed very very like a shot-for-shot remake of the unique. The high-fidelity CGI appeared even higher than earlier than, and Jenkins mentioned the movie had all new songs, however Disney was “handcuffing” him in revealing who made these songs.
“This story begins far past the mountain and the shadows on the opposite aspect of the sunshine,” a narrator says within the trailer. “A lion was born with out a drop of the Aristocracy in his blood, a lion who would change our lives without end.”
Discussing the movie at 2022’s D23 Expo the place it was formally unveiled, Jenkins described “Mufasa: The Lion King” as a rags-to-riches story exploring Mufasa’s rise as a younger lion.
“It’s a narrative about how Mufasa rose to royalty,” Jenkins mentioned. “We assume he was simply born into his lineage, however Mufasa was truly an orphaned cub who needed to navigate the world alone. In telling this story, we get to expertise the actual journey of how Mufasa discovered his place within the circle of life.”
Jenkins additional mentioned he was drawn to the story of an increase to greatness after his personal ascension in Hollywood following “Moonlight” profitable Greatest Image.
“As I used to be studying this excellent script, I used to be interested by Mufasa, and why he’s nice, and the way folks change into nice,” Jenkins mentioned. “I used to be on stage on the Oscars with ‘Moonlight.’ And I used to be there, and 5 of my finest associates from school had been additionally there. And what you’ll be taught from the story is that Mufasa is who he’s, is nice, due to the household and the chums that he has. And so I noticed myself in that. I believed: ‘This can be a actually stunning story to inform.’”
Jenkins directs “Mufasa: The Lion King” from a script by Jeff Nathanson. A number of of Jenkins’ collaborators from his first two movies “Moonlight” and “If Beale Road May Discuss” labored on the challenge, together with cinematographer James Laxton and editor Joi McMillon. Nicholas Britell will even contribute to the rating, which additionally options music from Pharell Williams and Hans Zimmer.
The unique 1994 animated “Lion King” is incessantly thought-about considered one of Disney’s best movies, and is the highest-grossing historically animated movie of all-time. Though 2019’s “The Lion King” was equally profitable, grossing over $1.6 billion in theaters, it acquired far more unfavourable critiques from critics. IndieWire gave the movie a “D,” with critic David Ehrlich calling the movie a “disastrous plunge into the uncanny valley.”
“Mufasa: The Lion King” will launch in theaters December 20, 2024.