Mufasa: The Lion King - Release Date, Cast, Director And More Info

It's the Circle of Life: Disney keeps returning to the same well over and over until it runs dry, at which point the studio is forced to innovate again. After a decade of raking in billions of dollars by remaking its beloved animated features as either live-action/CGI hybrid films or animated films with photorealistic CGI, the House of Mouse has finally started to see a slowdown on that front, with the 2023 version of "The Little Mermaid" falling well short of the box office heights scaled by the previous re-imaginings of Disney Renaissance classics. Of course, this particular money-printing machine isn't about to break down overnight, as several more re-tellings are making their way down the assembly line as we speak.

Along with live-action takes on "Snow White," "Lilo & Stitch, and "Moana," Disney is also working on "Mufasa: The Lion King," an extension of its 2019 computer-animated (I said what I said) remake of the studio's traditionally animated 1994 behemoth "The Lion King." It's a film that's raised eyebrows ever since it was announced thanks to the involvement of Barry Jenkins, the director of the Best Picture Oscar-winning "Moonlight" and just about the last person you would expect to see tackling a Disney re-telling this side of, say, Sarah Polley. (Speaking of which...)

For what it's worth, there's really nowhere for Jenkins to go but up at this stage, what with the deeply misguided "Lion King" remake having swapped out the original's vibrant colors and expressive characters for bland "realistic" visuals (rendering one of most traumatizing moments in Disney history unintentionally hilarious in the process). With that in mind, lets run through what we know about "Mufasa" so far.

With its show-stopping musical numbers and epic, Shakespearean drama, "The Lion King" has always been a spectacle befitting of the summer, regardless of animation style. The original version took the world by storm in June of 1994 and its remake did the same when it arrived just a little over 25 years later in July 2019, grossing a humongous $1.65 billion at the global box office. "Mufasa" will attempt to follow suit when it hits theaters just in time for the Fourth of July after-party on July 5, 2024.

Disney didn't have much luck when it released "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" around that frame in 2023, with the whip-cracking sequel opening far lower than the previous entry in the franchise, "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," had 15 years earlier. Will history repeat itself? The sequels to Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" and "Sleeping Beauty" re-tellings similarly faltered at the box office, so it's probably best to hold off on crowning "Mufasa" the new king just yet.

Early reports have indicated "Mufasa" is an origin story for its namesake in the vein of "The Godfather: Part II," in the sense that it will continue to move the story of "The Lion King" forward while at the same fleshing out the backstory for the first film's now-deceased head of the family. (Hey, it worked for "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.") This is also why there was initially a little confusion about whether the film was a sequel or prequel when it was first announced, leading some to wonder if we were about to get a live-action adaptation of the direct-to-video 1998 animated sequel "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride."

Instead, judging by the first-look footage screened at the 2022 D23 Expo, "Mufasa" looks to be an original narrative exploring the relationship between Mufasa and his sibling Taka, including Mufasa's journey to becoming King of the Pride Lands and how Taka came to get the scar that would give him his nickname, er, Scar. Apologies to those of you who were holding out hope the film would include some of the bangers from "Simba's Pride" (namely, "He Lives in You" and "One of Us"). Deception and disgrace indeed.

Aaron Pierre is starring in "Mufasa" as the titular king-in-the-making, having previously worked with Barry Jenkins on his incredible historical drama series "The Underground Railroad." Pierre also played Malcolm X in the "Genius" anthology series, starred as Dev-Em in the Superman prequel series "Krypton," impressed in Clement Virgo's drama "Brother," and played the rather memorably-named rapper Mid-Sized Sedan in M. Night Shyamalan's "Old." You could, in other words, call him a talent to watch out for.

Speaking of up-and-comers, Kelvin Harrison Jr. is lending his own voice to "Mufasa" as the young version of Taka/Scar. Harrison quickly made a name for himself with his breakout performances in Trey Edward Shults' horror film "It Comes at Night" and Julius Onah's dramatic thriller "Luce." He also showed off his musical chops as Christian de Neuvillette in Joe Wright's "Cyrano" and shined as the French musical extraordinaire Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges in the biopic "Chevalier."

Meanwhile, John Kani will reprise his role as Rafiki from the 2019 "Lion King" in "Mufasa," with Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner also returning to voice Pumbaa and Timon. Mind you, these three characters are only really expected to function as the film's narrators with minimal screen time, lest anyone think we're getting a live-action version of "The Lion King 1½" (itself a "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead"-style spin on "The Lion King," in keeping with the property's Shakespearean influences).

Even with just a handful of feature films under his belt as a director, Barry Jenkins has emerged as one of the leading voices of his generation. Besides "Moonlight," he helmed the equally masterful "Medicine for Melancholy" and "If Beale Street Could Talk," as well as the entirety of Prime Video's revered "Underground Railroad" series and one of the most memorable (and powerful) episodes of Justin Simien's "Dear White People" Netflix series. Jenkins also received story credit on "Blue Beetle" director Angel Manuel Soto's acclaimed drama "Charm City Kings" and produced Charlotte Wells' wonderful directorial debut "Aftersun."

Regardless of the outcome, "Mufasa" should go down as another win for Jenkins. If the film is a bust? Well, at least he got a healthy payday and is now free to go off and pursue a smaller passion project. Otherwise, who knows, we might just end up getting the best "Lion King" film yet.

"Mufasa: The Lion King" is being written by Jeff Nathanson, who also penned the 2019 version of "The Lion King." Nathan himself has become something of a go-to scribe for Disney lately, with other credits that include "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" and "Young Woman and the Sea" (an upcoming Disney biopic starring Daisy Ridley as the real-life Olympic swimming champ Gertrude Ederle). Prior to that, he teamed up with Steven Spielberg for the films "Catch Me If You Can" and "The Terminal," in addition to (tragically) the human dumpster fire Brett Ratner on the "Rush Hour" sequels and "Tower Heist."

Joining Jenkins and Nathanson behind the camera on "Mufasa" is Jenkins' frequent producer Adele Romanski, as well as the director's "If Beale Street Could Talk" and "The Underground Railroad" producer Mark Ceryak. Representing Disney's interests is executive producer Peter M. Tobyansen, who also backed the studio's live-action "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Jungle Book" remakes.