First Look Photo From Disney's Live-Action Prequel MUFASA: THE LION KING
Disney has released a first-look photo from their upcoming live-action prequel film, Mufasa: The Lion King. The photo features Mufasa as a young lion standing atop a seemingly desolate mountaintop. The film is being directed by Moonlight's Barry Jenkins, from a script from Jeff Nathanson. Krypton star Aaron Pierre will provide the voice of Mufasa in the new movie, with Kelvin Harrison Jr. voicing Scar.
There’s not a lot of information that has been shared for the movie, but we know that it will be an origin story for Simba's father.
Jenkins previously talked about the movie, saying: "I grew up with these characters, they mean so much to me. I think the work that Jeff Nathanson, the writer, did and going back into really helping children and anyone who ever loved this property understand what it takes. Kings aren't just born, they aren't just made. They have to become who they are through a series of events that a lot of people can relate to. So, in that standpoint, it fits very well with everything else I've done. So I feel no pressure, I just want to do a good job."
He went on to say: "My agents send me a lot of scripts. When this one came, super top secret, I was very skeptical. I read the script and about 40 pages in I turned to Lulu [Wang] and I said, 'Holy s**t, this is good.' And as I kept reading, I got further away from the side of my brain that said, 'Oh, a filmmaker like you doesn't make a film like this,' and allowed myself to get to the place where these characters, this story, is amazing. What really pushed me across the line was James, my DP, said, 'You know what? There's something really interesting in this mode of filmmaking that we haven't done and that not many people have done.' That was when I went back to the powers that be and said, 'I would love to do this, but I've got to be able to do what I do.'"
Disney shared a teaser trailer for the film last year at the D23 Expo, which showed Mufasa as a cub, and it features the story being narrated by Timon and Pumbaa.
The shot for shot remake that Jon Favreau directed of The Lion King was beautiful, but just a rehash of the animated film. This new movie will have the edge of a brand new story, so hopefully that makes it fun for fans to watch.