It’s been some time since we heard about The Lion King prequel. Moonlight‘s Barry Jenkins took over directing duties from Jon Favreau, who kickstarted the live-action adaptation of the popular Disney animated film. Deadline has just unveiled that The Trial of The Chicago 7‘s Kelvin Harrison Jr. and The Underground Railroad‘s Aaron Pierre will lead the project. It’ll explore the story of Mufasa’s origin before he became the loving father we see in the original film. Harrison Jr. will tackle the role of Taka and Pierre playing Mufasa.
It’s still a curious decision to explore the origins of Mufasa. Disney did continue the story through various media with a direct-to-video sequel and The Lion Guard series on Disney Junior. Still, Simba’s father was rather straight-laced and the film might focus on his relationship with his brother, Scar. It doesn’t officially have a title, but there’s a good chance it might get a subtitle of some kind to not make people believe it’s an adaptation of the sequel.
It’ll continue the photorealistic animation technology introduced with the first film. Jeff Nathanson returns to script the film. Hans Zimmer will score the soundtrack alongside Pharrell, and Succession‘s Nicholas Britell. Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak will act as producers on the Disney film. Production is already underway and we might see more casting in the near future.
Source: Deadline
