Disney Moves Forward with THE LION KING Sequel with MOONLIGHT Director Barry Jenkins
Disney is moving forward with its sequel to director Jon Favreau’s The Lion King, and it will be helmed by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk). Jeff Nathanson, who scripted the last movie, has also completed an initial draft of the script.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that Disney is making a sequel to the 2019 film. After all, that first movie made a ton of money, and Disney really loves the franchises that are money-making machines.
Jenkins is a talented filmmaker and storyteller, and this is what he had to say in a statement:
“Helping my sister raise two young boys during the ’90s, I grew up with these characters. Having the opportunity to work with Disney on expanding this magnificent tale of friendship, love and legacy while furthering my work chronicling the lives and souls of folk within the African diaspora is a dream come true.”
There are no details regarding the story, but Deadline reports that the “story will further explore the mythology of the characters, including Mufasa’s origin story. Moving the story forward while looking back conjures memories of The Godfather: Part II, set on the African plain with a continuation of the tradition of music that was a key part of the 1994 animated classic, the 2019 film and the blockbuster Broadway stage transfer.”
Don’t expect the movie to be a remake of the animated sequel that was made. This is going to be a completely new story. But, the film will also continue to use the photo-realistic CGI technology that Favreau used in the 2019 film and 2016’s The Jungle Book.
As for the cast, there’s no official word on who will return, but I imagine many of the cast members from Favreau’s film will be back. That voice cast from the first film includes Donald Glover, Alfre Woodard, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, James Earl Jones, John Oliver, Keegan-Michael Key, Eric Andre, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amy Sedaris and Chance the Rapper.
There is no release date set for The Lion King sequel, but it’s a top priority for the studio. I’m sure that Jenkins will deliver a great sequel that fans will love.