Today’s news that director Barry Jenkins is set to direct “Lion King 2” for Disney has shocked many in the industry, but it shouldn’t be that surprising. Jenkins’ movies such as “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” were not hard-earners at the box-office, The writer-director probably needed the cash and it seems as though this is a quid-pro-quo kind of deal for him as Disney-owned Searchlight will be producing Jenkins’ next passion project, a biopic about Alvin Ailey.
According to Deadline, Jeff Nathanson, the writer behind the 2019 ‘King’, is back to script the new feature and has already finished his first draft. The first film, directed by Jon Favreau, was horrendously bland, there was none of the excitement and sense of adventure of the original 1994 animated classic. Of course, with Jenkins at the helm for the sequel, there is the slight chance that something special could arise, but I doubt it.
Regardless, this is, technically speaking, the definition of “selling out,” but do you actually blame Jenkins for signing on? Things aren’t the same for prominent directors as they were even just 10 years ago - the midbudget movie is dying, just ask Ben Affleck. Signing on for the sequel of a movie that made $1 billion will help Jenkins fund his more personal indie projects. It’s as simple as that. The kind of movies Jenkins likes to make are a dying breed right now.