The first teaser trailer for Disney’s “The Lion King” prequel, “Mufasa: The Lion King,” ended with a surprise reveal. The upcoming photo-real live-action animated feature, directed by “Moonlight” Oscar winner Barry Jenkins, will feature new music from Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Emmy Award-, Grammy Award-, and Tony Award-winning artist who is one Oscar away from becoming a member of the EGOT club.
“Elton John. Tim Rice. Hans Zimmer. Lebo M. Mark Mancina. Beyoncé, Labrinth, Ilya Salmanzadeh. Beau Black, Ford Riley, the incredible music team on ‘The Lion Guard,’ and so many musical contributors over the years. ‘The Lion King’ has an incredible musical legacy with music from some of the greatest songwriters around, and I’m humbled and proud to be a part of it,” Miranda said in a statement. “It’s been a joy working alongside Barry Jenkins to bring Mufasa’s story to life, and we can’t wait for audiences to experience this film in theaters.”
The original animated version of “The Lion King” won Oscars for its score (for Zimmer) and the original song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” (for John and Rice). All told, the music from “The Lion King” earned four Oscar nominations (three songs and the score). Thus far in his career, Miranda has received two Oscar nominations for his song contributions to “Moana” and “Encanto.”
The surprise revelations didn’t stop with Miranda, however. “Mufasa: The Lion King” also has another member of music royalty in its cast: Blue Ivy Carter who makes her screen debut in the film as the voice of Simba and Nala’s daughter. As with the previous live-action animated version of “The Lion King,” Simba and Nala are voiced by, respectively, Donald Glover and Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Blue Ivy’s mom.
Glover and Knowles-Carter return because “Mufasa: The Lion King” is told largely through flashbacks, as Disney revealed this morning.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” “enlists Rafiki (John Kani) to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara (Carter), daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa (Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen) lending their signature schtick,” reads a press release from Disney. “Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) — 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.”
Who is Taka? Disney describes him “a lion prince with a bright future who accepts Mufasa into his family as a brother.” Fans of the franchise and its expansions might remember that Taka is the given name of Scar, the villainous lion memorably voiced by Jeremy Irons in the original animated film and later played by Chiwetel Ejiofor in the 2019 live-action version. James Earl Jones voiced the adult Mufasa in the animated film and the remake.
In addition to the aforementioned cast, “Mufasa” also stars Tiffany Boone as Sarabi, Kagiso Lediga as Young Rafiki, Preston Nyman as Zazu, Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros (“a formidable lion with big plans for his pride”), Thandiwe Newton as Taka’s mother, Eshe, Lennie James as Taka’s father, Obasi, Anika Noni Rose as Mufasa’s mother, Afia, and Keith David as Mufasa’s father, Masego. Other cast members include Braelyn Rankins, Theo Somolu, Folake Olowofoyeku, Joanna Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, Abdul Salis, and Dominique Jennings. (Pierre, Mbedu, and Atim worked with Jenkins on “The Underground Railroad.)
“Mufasa: The Lion King” is out on December 20.
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