Disney has released the first teaser trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King, the upcoming live-action prequel to 2019’s The Lion King.
Mufasa’s just a little guy in this trailer, which feels like a departure from the previous live-action adaptation, mostly in that it’s not nearly as tethered to the animated film. Directed by Barry Jenkins, Mufasa: The Lion King folds more lore into the backstory of Simba’s dad and adds some different settings—namely a frozen environment (how??):
Alongside the trailer, Disney revealed the full voice cast for Mufasa, which includes Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, Simba and Nala’s daughter—yes, Blue Ivy Carter is literally her mother’s daughter. Here’s the official synopsis for Mufasa:
“Mufasa: The Lion King” enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.
In a truly astonishing feat of collective action, we seemingly willed ourselves into forgetting Disney’s live-action prequel to The Lion King—probably due to the cognitive dissonance associated with acknowledging that it was directed by Barry Jenkins, one of our greatest modern filmmakers and the director of the Oscar-winning Moonlight.
Earlier this month, the first image from Mufasa: The Lion King made its way online, featuring a digitally de-aged Mufasa. Disney probably didn’t intend for the whole wide internet to see this photo, which was revealed during its annual meeting of shareholders. If I was on that board, I’d take one look at this low-res photo and shout “NO CONFIDENCE!” That’s how business gets done.
On the other hand, where Disney really messed things up with the previous Lion King was in featuring any adult animals at all. Baby Simba? Good. Regular-sized adult animals rendered in CGI? Bad. Why would I want to watch that when Planet Earth exists? More baby animals, please.
Mufasa: The Lion King features the voices of Aaron Pierre as Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Scar—an excellent pairing, to be fair, and one you can see in actual live action in the third season of Genius, in which Pierre plays Malcolm X opposite Harrison Jr.’s Martin Luther King Jr. It just so happens that that series is available to stream on Disney+. Synergy!
Mufasa: The Lion King also stars Tiffany Boone, Kagiso Lediga, Mads Mikkelsen, Preston Nyman, Anika Noni Rose, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, John Kani, and Keith David, and hits theaters on December 20.
(featured image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
