While Jon Favreau’s “The Lion King” is broadcast this evening on M6, we take stock of “Mufasa”, the prequel centered on the life of Simba’s father.
In 2019, 25 years after the animated film by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, director Jon Favreau took us back to the savannah with a new version of The Lion King, broadcast this evening on M6. With $1.6 billion collected at the international box office, Jon Favreau’s film is in seventh position in the Top 10 biggest hits of all time.
Disney therefore quickly announced a second part entitled Mufasa. Directed by Barry Jenkins, Oscar winner in 2017 for Moonlight, the feature film will be a prequel centered on the story of Simba’s father.
The film will not be the “live” adaptation of the animated film The Lion King 2, which followed the adventures of Kiara, the daughter of Simba and Nala, but a prequel about Mufasa’s youth. However, the feature film should still allow us to discover the young lioness since Mufasa’s story will be told by Rafiki, Timon and Pumbaa to Kiara. Simba’s friends will tell his daughter about the rise of one of the greatest kings of the Land of Lions.
The feature film written by Jeff Nathanson, already at work on the previous version of The Lion King, will be presented in the form of flashbacks and will allow us to discover who Simba’s father was and where his brother Scar’s jealousy was born. .
Mufasa and Scar wouldn’t really be brothers
During D23 in 2022, Disney’s annual convention, the studio unveiled a short sequence of Mufasa. We saw a young lion cub caught in a downpour and carried away from his family. The latter was then taken in by a mysterious lion.
Disney The Lion King
This extract raised many questions among spectators. Could the lost lion cub be Mufasa? The latter would therefore not be the legitimate son of King Ahadi and Queen Uru? Which would explain why Scar is so angry with him… Barry Jenkins’ film will therefore allow us to better understand the complex relationship that exists between Scar and Mufasa from the start of The Lion King.
The same energy as The Lion King
During the presentation of his film, Barry Jenkins confided to our microphone that his Mufasa would have the same energy as his illustrious predecessor.
“It’s different from The Lion King, but it will have the same energy. Mufasa tells the story of how Simba’s father became King. We tell his story from his childhood to the birth of his son. In the original film , Mufasa represents greatness. We admire his royalty, his leadership. We think he has all this because he was well born…
Disney
The Lion King
But in this prequel we’ll explore how his friends and family made him who he is. We will discover his journey. For me, Mufasa means a lot and I think it’s a film that children and their parents, who grew up with the Disney classic, will enjoy seeing.”
As for the original voice cast, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen and John Kani will return and reprise their respective roles as Timon, Pumbaa and Rafiki. Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer – who worked on The Lion King Roger Allers And Rob Minkoff in 1994 and its 2017 remake, will also return.
Mufasa’s release postponed because of Moana 2?
Mufasa: The Lion King is announced in our cinemas for December 18, 2024. But this date remains to be confirmed since last week the big-eared studio created a surprise by announcing that the sequel to Moana would be the Disney of Christmas.
There is therefore little chance that the studio will release Moana 2 on November 27 and Mufasa, two weeks later. Since no images have been released, it is very likely that Barry Jenkins’ feature film will be postponed.