Two years in the past, information that Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins was making a prequel to The Lion King made everybody scratch their heads. What the heck would that be and who requested for that? Well, lastly, on the D23 Expo, Jenkins confirmed as much as clarify what it was about Mufasa: The Lion King that makes it distinctive.

Yes, Mufasa is the origin of the older king we see perish in The Lion King—however what we’ll be taught is, he wasn’t born into royalty like his son Simba. Mufasa was an orphaned cub who labored his method up the meals chain to turn into the highly effective chief he was. And in that story, Jenkins noticed a little bit of himself. The Moonlight director defined that when that movie received Best Picture on the Oscars, he appeared round and noticed all his gifted collaborators, and that’s made him relate to Mufasa. He’s a personality made nice by his family and friends.

The movie is advised in two time intervals. One is the previous, after all, as we see a younger Mufasa develop right into a lion king, and the opposite in a gift the place Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa, inform Mufasa’s story to a younger cub. Which means, sure, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner will reprise their roles from the Jon Favreau Lion King remake.

Oh, proper: that’s the opposite factor. This movie has the very same aesthetic because the Favreau movie. A quick teaser soared over Pride Rock, to the opposite facet of the desert, and up on to a smaller rock the place a younger cub stands. The cub appears up and sees a drop of rain hit him within the face. But the rain retains coming and a flood begins. Mufasa is caught up within the flood and finds himself swept away within the flood, solely to be found by one other thriller lion.

The footage then minimize to Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa the place Timon was complaining that they weren’t on this story. But you’re, Timon. You are.

Will Mufasa: The Lion King reside as much as its unimaginable pedigree each on display and off? We’ll see. But now, at the very least, we all know what it’s about and why Barry Jenkins is making it.

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