After the resounding success of the blockbuster The Lion King (2019) with a revenue of 1.663 billion USD, the audience still wants to continue exploring the story of the lions and the vast Pride Land.
So Disney has been carefully planning a prequel about Mufasa - Simba's father for a long time.
Barry Jenkins - Oscar-winning director of Moonlight (2016) is targeted to steer this Mufasa project.
But as he recently shared, Jenkins admitted, he never thought he would direct a prequel to The Lion King.
Before that, Jenkins had only directed 4 films, his name really rose to fame after Moonlight (2016) was released and swept the Oscars that same year.
Moonlight is a dramatic and psychological film, so inviting Jenkins to direct the prequel to The Lion King made many people skeptical...
Even Barry Jenkins refused the invitation, saying immediately: "It probably won't work, no need to think too much."
Even before reading the script, he thought it would be about 5 pages long. However, things quickly changed when he focused on reading the script written by screenwriter Jeff Nathanson (screenwriter of the 2019 live action The Lion King).
“I devoured the script, and by page 45 I was like, ‘This is great.’ The next day, I said yes,” Jenkins shared.
"Mufasa: The Lion King" is scheduled to premiere on December 20, 2024 in theaters nationwide.
