30 years after the original Lion King animated flick made its debut, Disney is looking back to the origin story of Mufasa.
Before perishing in his brother Scar’s plot to take the throne for himself, Mufasa was the King of the Pride Lands and the father of Simba. Mufasa: The Lion King serves as a prequel to the hit film, as well as a follow-up to director Jon Favreau’s 2019 photorealistic remake.
Mufasa will hark back to the king’s upbringing in the Pride Lands, particularly his childhood and upbringing alongside Scar. The film will see the mandrill Rafiki tell Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara the story of her grandfather.
Moonlight director Barry Jenkins is directing Mufasa with the majority of the 2019 voice cast reprising their roles. John Kani voices Rafiki, Seth Rogen is Pumbaa, Billy Eichner is Timon and Donald Glover is Simba. Beyoncé is set to return as Nala with daughter Blue Ivy Carter joining the cast as Kiara.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, meanwhile, is composing and writing the movie’s soundtrack, and producing the music alongside Mark Mancina.
Watch the official trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King above. The film hits theaters on December 20.
