According to Kelvin Harrison Jr, Barry Jenkins’ prequel to the “The Lion King,” is close to being done:
We’re deep in it. It comes out next year so we’re pretty much almost done. Everything looks really great so far. I was skeptical and I kept making a joke with Barry. Every time I go in there I’m like, “Barry this might be a good movie” and he’s like, “Oh, it might be?” (laughs). It’s going to be lots of fun. I think you’re going to like it.
It’s hard not to see why Harrison would have some hesitation about the project. If I had to bet, Jenkins is probably being payed a mighty sum of money to make this one.
At D23, an official title was confirmed: “Mufasa: The Lion King.” Edgy. A Summer 2024 release date was already put in the books. Jenkins elaborated in his presentation that he sees himself in the titular character: "Mufasa is great because of the family and the friends that he has." How cute.
In September of 2021, news broke that Jenkins was set to direct this Disney-backed movie. It shocked many in the industry, but it shouldn’t be that surprising. Jenkins’ first three film, “Medicine for Melancholy,” “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” were not hard-earners at the box-office. The writer-director probably needed the cash.
Jeff Nathanson, the writer behind the misbegotten 2019 “Lion King,” is back to script the sequel. That 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 of the sequel, there is the slight possibility that something special could arise, but, with the full mouse house machine backing this expensive sequel, I doubt it.
Is this a case of Jenkins “selling out”? Do you actually blame Jenkins for signing on? This is the prequel for a movie that made $1 billion, it will probably help the talented Jenkins fund more personal projects. It’s as simple as that. The kind of movies Jenkins likes to make are a dying breed right now, and ‘Mufasa’ ain’t one of them.
However, one must ask, would David Lynch, Paul Thomas Anderson, Joel Coen, Wes Anderson, and Quentin Tarantino ever sign on to direct “Mufasa: The Lion King”? Of course not.
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.