Mufasa Teases Motion, Journey, and Toothy Grins

Mufasa‘s title suggests it’s a prequel, going again in time to discover what Simba’s father received as much as earlier than guiding his younger son in The Lion King. And naturally that would be the bulk of it—however Barry Jenkins‘ photo-realistic CGI animated musical additionally has a body story, set throughout Simba’s royal rule, during which the growing older Rafiki tells Mufasa’s story to Simba’s younger daughter, Kiara. (That’s how Disney made positive fan-favorites Timon and Pumbaa would have locations within the forged.) As Mufasa‘s launch inches towards the “one month to go” mark, Disney is ramping up the promo with a brand new featurette and a few colourful character posters.

First up, we get a peek inside Jenkins’ artistic course of with “Mufasa: The Lion King—Visionary Storyteller,” which reveals the Oscar-winning director laborious at work on his follow-up to Disney’s 2019 blockbuster The Lion King, itself a re-do of the studio’s beloved 1994 animated basic. “Oh my lord, how lucky Disney is,” says Rafiki actor John Kani, talking about Jenkins’ expertise, and we are inclined to agree.

It’s a sentiment shared by everybody on this video, from star Aaron Pierre to songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, and past. (It’s mutual, as an excited Jenkins calls his co-workers “the forged of my desires.”) Plus, there’s every kind of sweeping footage of animals (some friendlier than others) working and leaping throughout beautiful landscapes. Test it out!

Disney additionally shared some new posters that it’s best to count on to begin seeing plastered round quickly. Clockwise from high left, that’s Rafiki and Zazu; younger Mufasa; the lion brothers Mufasa and Taka (who later turned generally known as Scar); Kiara; and Timon and Pumbaa.

Mufasa: The Lion King boasts a stacked forged—together with a number of performers which might be reprising their roles from Jon Favreau’s The Lion King. Aaron Pierre (who was simply forged in DC’s Lanterns sequence) stars as Mufasa, with Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka, John Kani (Black Panther‘s T’Chaka) as Rafiki, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, Tiffany Boone as Sarabi, Donald Glover as Simba, Mads Mikkelson as Kiros, Thandiwe Newton as Eshe, Lennie James as Obasi, Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, Preston Nyman as Zazu, Anika Noni Rose (The Princess and the Frog) as Afia, and Keith David as Masego.

Mufasa: The Lion King hits theaters December 20.

Need extra io9 information? Try when to count on the most recent Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s subsequent for the DC Universe on film and TV, and the whole lot it is advisable find out about the way forward for Doctor Who.