Disney Announces ‘Lion King’ Prequel ‘MUFASA’, Exploring Older King’s Early Days

Mufasa’s story in The Lion King was cut too short—it’s part of the circle of life, as they say. Fans will finally get a little closure three decades on as Disney will soon be telling the life story of the older king in MUFASA: The Lion King.

The Walt Disney Company shared the first footage of the prequel at the D23 expo. MUFASA: The Lion King, first teased in 2020 and currently in production, will follow the photorealistic CGI style of Jon Favreau’s 2019 film, with Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr filling in the claws of young Mufasa and his brother Scar respectively.

Mufasa: The Lion King. 2024. pic.twitter.com/IkPMk6IDGR

— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) September 9, 2022

The plot will see Rafiki (John Kani), Timon and Pumbaa (reprised by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen of the 2019 version) tell the story of Mufasa to a young cub. For the first time, audiences will learn that Mufasa was not born into royalty like his fortunate son.

“In this place a lion was born without a drop of nobility in his blood,” shares Rafiki. “The lion who would change our lives forever.”

Mufasa, in fact, was an orphan, and he’d make his way to the throne of the jungle by working against all odds. This rise to pivoting from his birthright is something that director Barry Jenkins can resonate with. Jenkins’ The Moonlight won Best Picture at the Oscars in 2017, and he recounted looking around and seeing his fellow collaborators who helped him get there, Gizmodo reports.

At the preview, the audience was also shown a heart-wrenching scene that brings to mind how Simba lost his father in The Lion King (once again driving home the circle of life notion). Little Mufasa onced lived in a desert, but a flood would separate him from his family and render him an orphan.

The film is poised for release in 2024, 30 years after the original animation.

[via Variety, Gizmodo, The Walt Disney Company, images via various sources]