Director Barry Jenkins appeared at his first CinemaCon to show off a trailer from Mufasa: The Lion King this afternoon at CinemaCon.
How did an arthouse director and Moonlight Oscar winner take on a four-quadrant movie? He wondered that himself for a minute, however, he told the crowd that he’s seen the original 1994 movie 200x with his nieces and nephews.
“When the script came to me I was fascinated by watching these complex people dealing with complex emotions…this film explores Mufasa rise to become the heroic king that we know,” Jenkins told attendees at Caesars Palace Colosseum.
The fruit doesn’t fall far from the tree and we see that Papa isn’t that different from Simba, running free in the Pride, jumping on hippos and escaping crocodiles. As is par for life in the plains, there’s another pack of lions who are squaring off with Mufasa. Also returning is Zazu and Rifiki. Says Rifiki in the voiceover, “This is the story of a lion who as born without a drop of nobility in his blood.”
This is the follow-up to Jon Favreau’s 2019 blockbuster The Lion King which grossed nearly $1.7B worldwide — and like that film, it looks like it stars real animals, the CGI is that good. Jenkins helms off a script by Jeff Nathanson.
The film continues with the photo-realistic technology that Favreau used in the 2019 film and 2016’s The Jungle Book.
The logline reads: Simba, having become king of the Pride Lands, is determined for his cub to follow in his paw prints while the origins of his late father Mufasa are explored.
Cast include Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner. Jenkins’ PASTEL partners Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak are producing with Disney. Global release kicks off on December 20.
