Mufasa: The Lion King Disney's Beloved Live-Action Continues Lion King franchise with a prequel about the rise of Mufasa and how he became the powerful and wise ruler who taught Simba everything he knew. Following the success of Jon Favreau's 2019 live-action remake The Lion KingOscar winner Barry Jenkins will direct this Mufasa prequel that will cover Simba's father before he became king of Pride Rock, as well as the beginning of his intense relationship with his brother Scar.
Serving as a live-action version of the 1994 animated classic, The Lion King became Disney's biggest remake when it debuted in 2019, grossing $1.6 billion worldwide despite mixed reviews, so it was no surprise that Disney continued the franchise. Disney's live-action remakes have been a huge success for the studio over the past decade, but Mufasa: The Lion King marks the first time the House of Mouse has created an original film based on one.
Mufasa: The Lion King Box Office and Critical Reception
A huge disappointment
Although no critic could criticize the film from a technical point of view, many found it bland and lifeless.
Despite the hype surrounding the prequel, it appears that Mufasa: The Lion King It's an initial disappointment. Getting a score in the 50s on Rotten tomatoes, the prequel got a wide range of reactions, but few of them were very positive. While Screen speech gave the film its props for taking risks and telling an original story, other media like Vulture exploded Mufasa: The Lion King for your lack of imagination. Although no critic could criticize the film from a technical point of view, many found it bland and lifeless.
Box office numbers are a little more positive, although Mufasa: The Lion King is by no means a record holder in the making. Things looked bad right from the start, when the Lion King lost prequel to Sonic the Hedgehog 3 at the national box office. Taking home just $35 million during its first weekend (via Mojo Box Office), the film ended up being saved by its international gross, which raised it to more than US$100 million. Considering the film's huge budget, Mufasa: The Lion King It's on a knife's edge.
Mufasa: Lion King cast details
A stacked voice cast stars in The Lion King prequel
The cast of Mufasa: The Lion King sees some new voice actors playing younger versions of characters from The Lion King. While James Earl Jones (Star Wars) played Mufasa in both the original animation The Lion King and its live-action remake, The role of young Mufasa went to Aaron Pierre (Old). Likewise, after Jeremy Irons (The Borgias) played Scar in the original and Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 years of slavery) did this in the remake, Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Knight) took over as the younger Scar from the prequel.
However Mufasa: The Lion King occurs mainly before the events of The Lion King, Timon and Pumbaa narrate the film with Seth Rogen (Knocked out) and Billy Eichner (Brothers) returning to express them. John Kani (Murder Mystery) is also returned as Rafiki. Mads Mikkelsen (Hannibal) plays the villainous role of Kiros, the leader of a pride of white lions.
The cast of Mufasa: The Lion King includes:
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Actor |
Mufasa: the role of the Lion King |
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|---|---|---|
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Aaron Pierre/Braelyn Rankins |
Mufasa |
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Kelvin Harrison Jr./Theo Somolu |
Scar/Taka |
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John Kani/Kagiso Lediga |
Rafiki |
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Seth Rogen |
Pumbaa |
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Billy Eichner |
Timon |
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Donald Glover |
Simba |
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Mads Mikkelsen |
Kiros |
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Thandiwe Newton |
Eshe |
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Tiffany Boone |
Sarabi |
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Lennie James |
Obasi |
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Beyoncé Knowles-Carter |
Nala |
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Blue Ivy Carter |
Kiara |
Image via Disney |
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Preston Nyman |
Zazu |
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Keith David |
Masego |
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Anika Noni Rosa |
Sharpen |
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Mufasa: The Lion King Trailers
See the first glimpses of the prequel below
Ahead of the film's December 2024 release date, Disney revealed the first trailer for Mufasa: The Lion Kingand it is much more than a simple prequel. Told through flashback narration, The teaser reveals Mufasa's humble origins and teases his long journey to reach the Pridelands seen in The Lion King. Along the way, Mufasa must traverse various environments, including a snowy region never before seen in the franchise. The entire trailer is accented by the soaring soundtrack that promises to continue the Disney series' reputation for incredible music.
After the first teaser was released, Disney revealed the full trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King at the D23 fan expo in August 2024. The lengthy trailer introduces a young, orphaned Mufasa as he is taken in by the parents of Taka, his adopted brother, who will eventually become Scar. It's clear that the relationship between the two will be the crux of the story and will help explain why Scar became the villain in the future, as well as how Mufasa eventually became king.
With just a few weeks left until the film arrives, Disney has released the latest trailer to Mufasa: The Lion King in November 2024. As with previous trailers, the final teaser reveals the bond between adopted brothers Mufasa and Taka (later Scar) and shows their harrowing journey to forge their future kingdom. Meanwhile, the trailer also shows off many of Rafiki's antics and even throws Simba's mother, Sarabi, into the mix.
Mufasa: The Lion King ending and spoilers
The prequel establishes Lion King lore
Unsurprisingly, the prequel does its job of setting up the events of The Lion Kingand in doing so, it also sets up potential sequels in the future. Although the film is a single entity, the ending makes it clear that there is a larger world outside of Simba and his well-known plot. Even though the end of Mufasa: The Lion King catches up with the original timeline, it doesn't completely close the door on other stories told in The Lion King universe. Because it happened before and after The Lion KingHe left his options open.