It remains to be seen what role snow plays in the TLK setting ...

With the announcement of this cast listing, we get a glimpse into a whole new backstory for The Lion King that nods toward the three-decade-old fandom but goes in its own unique direction:

Aaron Pierre as Mufasa
Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka, a lion prince with a bright future who accepts Mufasa into his family as a brother
Tiffany Boone as Sarabi
Kagiso Lediga as Young Rafiki
Preston Nyman as Zazu
Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros, a formidable lion with big plans for his pride
Thandiwe Newton as Taka’s mother, Eshe
Lennie James as Taka’s father, Obasi
Anika Noni Rose as Mufasa’s mother, Afia
Keith David as Mufasa’s father, Masego
John Kani as Rafiki
Seth Rogen as Pumbaa
Billy Eichner as Timon
Donald Glover as Simba
Introducing Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, daughter of King Simba and Queen Nala
And Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala

Charlie Quigg has spotted some newly released (leaked?) teaser images of a young Mufasa from the upcoming CGI movie in which he will star.



https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1639829-first-mufasa-the-lion-king-image-previews-barry-jenkins-disney-prequel-movie

More teaser images are available at https://www.instagram.com/p/C5UOCoWukUN/ and https://www.instagram.com/p/C5UXA18SJB-/?img_index=1

Via Charlie Quigg:

https://twitter.com/HollywoodHandle/status/1735020396523458605?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw



It appears that The Lion King: Mufasa will feature a framing device in which Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa tell Kiara about the legend of their grandfather.

The source for this information appears to be a tweet unrelated to any official spokesperson, but it seems plausible enough as a premise.

https://collider.com/mufasa-the-lion-king-prequel-new-release-date-december-2024/

The newly updated release date for Mufasa: The Lion King, previously set for July 5, 2024, has been pushed back to December 20, 2024, largely as a result of the recently resolved SAG-AFTRA strike.

This puts the movie on a release date that coincides with Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

https://www.watchinnz.co.nz/barry-jenkins-teases-mufasa-prequel/

A brief article that gives us a bit of insight into the structure of the upcoming prequel:

As confirmed on the D23 stage, Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa would use flashbacks to tell the story of the monarch of Pride Rock in Mufasa: The Lion King. Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, and John Kani, respectively, provided the voices for these characters in the 2019 motion picture The Lion King. James Earl Jones first played Mufasa in the Disney movie in 1994, and he reprised the role for the 2019 remake.

https://twitter.com/disneylionking/status/1568379616968179712

Also announced for the upcoming prequel CGI movie is a release date of 2024.

A Reddit post purports to show leaked information that director Barry Jenkins has some concrete plans for the upcoming followup to the 2019 CGI TLK remake:

https://www.reddit.com/r/lionking/comments/stu8a6/untitled_lion_king_film_update_5_hint_that_the/

"Then there’s the small matter of a certain Disney prequel. Last summer, the studio confirmed that Harrison will voice a younger version of Scar, Mufasa’s nefarious brother, in a new Lion King film, directed by Oscar winner Barry Jenkins. The secrecy surrounding the project is so tight that he can’t yet shed any light on Jenkins’ vision for the Pride Lands, but the original, which “came out the year I was born,” was a big part of his childhood, and he’s excited to become “a Disney villain - technically a prince… I’m not a fan of heroes. They’re cool but someone else can do that. I love the villains - Maleficent, Scar, Jafar - they’re so much more fun to play. I’m kind of stoked.”

That quote is from a linked article on Kelvin Harrison, slated to play the younger Scar. But the Reddit post linked above has a lot more bits and pieces cobbled together to summarize what we know so far.

Thanks to Mark Aanerud!

Via Charlie Quigg:

https://deadline.com/2021/08/lion-king-prequel-cast-kelvin-harrison-jr-aaron-pierre-barry-jenkins-1234822447/

EXCLUSIVE: The Lion King prequel is roaring into life. We can reveal that Waves and The Trial of the Chicago 7 star Kelvin Harrison Jr. and The Underground Railroad star Aaron Pierre are set to lead voice cast.

Production is underway on the anticipated feature, which will see Moonlight director Barry Jenkins further explore the mythology of the iconic characters, including Mufasa’s origin story.

Pierre — who recently teamed up with Jenkins on Amazon series The Underground Railroad — will play Mufasa while Harrison Jr. is playing Taka. Additional casting is in process with plenty of big names likely.