When Disney broughtThe Lion Kingto screens in a “live-action” format, it was always anticipated that there would be a follow-up movie on the cards. However, despite the originally animated movie having several sequels,the new Lion King film will be a prequelwithMoonlighthelmer Barry Jenkins directing. Now Jenkins has been giving a little more detail on the project that will tell the tale of Mufasa and Scar in their younger days before the former became king of Pride Rock, much to the latter’s displeasure.
WhileThe Lion Kingdid not quite sit right with some critics, who felt the “real” lions lost some of the expression and feeling that came with their animated counterparts, the film was one of many Disney properties that say in the top-grossing movies of the year list in 2019 after easily breaking through the $1 billion mark. In the new prequel, we will see a whole new tale woven around the history of one of Disney’s greatest villains and his majestic brother, but whether it can hold the same magic asThe Lion Kingremains to be seen.
“I grew up with this characters, they mean so much to me,” Jenkins toldVariety. “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.”
As the director ofMoonlightandIf Beale Street Could Talk,Barry Jenkinsdoesn’t seem like someone who would jump out as the prime partner for theLion Kingprequel, but the drama of the project could well be right up his street, although Jenkins himself had his initial doubts.
“My agents send me a lot of scripts. When this one came, super top secret, I was very skeptical,” the director said during an interview two years ago. “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.'”
The Lion Kingprequel is some way off, but it has already beenannounced that Aaron Pierre will be voicing Mufasa, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. will be voicing Scar, and Hans Zimmer will be returning to the franchise to work on the soundtrack with help from Pharrell Williams and Nicholas Britell. How a brand-new story based on the characters ofThe Lion Kingwill fare when the film is finally released is something we can only wait to find out.
