Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” begins with the voice of James Earl Jones, followed by a title card that says “In Remembrance.”
Jones, who died in September at the age of 93, voiced King Mufasa in the 1994 Oscar-winning animated film “The Lion King,” its direct-to-video sequel and 2019’s live-action remake. Jones did not return for the part The preview will be shown in theaters on December 20th.
says Barry Jenkins, who directed “Mufasa.” diverse Why did he decide to open the film by honoring the late actor? “When I think about what James Earl Jones means, not even just to me, but to global audiences — people know that — I grew up without a father figure, and you go in and see this art, and you see these movies, and sometimes he says, ‘These fathers in these movies become a surrogate. So.” “They became these father figures.”
So, when Jones died, Jenkins explains, “We felt like we had all lost a patriarch. We had everyone I lost this man who meant so much. I just felt like there was no way you could sit through this movie — an hour and 40 minutes in — and not honor it in some way. She’ll be thinking about ways she wants to honor him, so I felt we had to do that up front. The studio agreed immediately, and we tried to find something that was very simple, but also very clear and very powerful.
At the Los Angeles premiere of “Mufasa” on Monday night, supervising sound editor Onalie Blank described Jones’ voice in the film as “the voice of God.” “It was one of the most beautiful things we did. To make his voice sound like the voice of God, like he was speaking to all of us — it was so fitting and so sad.”
The “Lion King” prequel takes place before the events of the 2019 photo-realistic reimagining. “Mufasa” focuses on the early years of the eventual ruler of the Pride Lands (voiced by Aaron Pierre), as well as his younger brother Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), who will be known as Finally in the name of the infamous scar.
Reprising their voice roles from the 2019 film include Donald Glover as Simba; Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa; And Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, the voice of Nala. Her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, makes her feature film debut by voicing Kiara, Simba, and Nala’s daughter.
New cast members include Tiffany Boone as Sarabi; Kagiso Ledega as the young friend; Preston Nyman as Zazu; Mads Mikkelsen as the evil Kyros, a massive lion who has big plans for his pride; Thandiwe Newton as Taka’s mother, Ash; Lennie James as Taka’s father, Women; Anika Noni Rose as Afia, Mufasa’s mother; And Keith David as Mufasa’s father, blessings.
Mufasa also reunites Jenkins with his favorite team of craftsmen, including composer Nicholas Brettell, editor Joey McMillon, and cinematographer James Laxton. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote original songs for the film, including “I Always Wanted a Brother,” an up-tempo ballad that emphasizes the film’s brotherly themes.
In a recent interview with Vulture, Jenkins revealed that he was hesitant to direct “The Lion King” when Disney approached him in 2020, so he put off reading the script until his partner Lulu Wang (director of “The Farewell”) asked him: “Are you afraid to read it?” ?
“I wasn’t afraid. I was just skeptical,” Jenkins says. diverseExplain this story. “I don’t know why. I didn’t imagine that the ‘Moonlight’ themes would be in Mufasa, and the ‘Underground Railroad’ themes would be in Mufasa, and the ‘Medicine of Depression’ themes, rich things for me and stories and characters. But it was Very naive, because I remember watching the original “Lion King” and seeing a lot of deep, rich terrain.
Wang — who married Jenkins after this interview at the film’s press conference on Friday — is credited with motivating her, as Jenkins quickly discovered that the same could be said of Jeff Nathanson’s “Mufasa” screenplay (2019’s “The Lion King,” “Catch” Me If “I could.”
“If I told you, ‘I’m making a film about a little boy (who) has this biblical experience with water and then gets separated from his parents and has to go on a journey to find himself.’ I could have been talking about Moonlight, or Mufasa,” Jenkins recalls. “Reading the script, it was very clear. Then it was a matter of “nowWhat are you afraid of?