Oh, man. Barry Jenkins’ “Mufasa” does not look good. I hope the paycheck was well worth it for Jenkins. This looks like a soulless cash grab.
Much like the 2019 movie, the lions are unexpressive and indistinguishable. Also, Timon and Pumba don’t at all sound like Timon and Pumba. Ditto Rafiki. Oh, and it turns out Mufasa and Scar aren’t even brothers, the latter was adopted. The 1994 original classic isn’t even Hamlet anymore.
I’ve already tackled how, after directing acclaimed arthouse films such as “Moonlight,” “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Jenkins embarking on this mainstream Disney prequel seems totally out of place for his talents. The terms “soulless cash grab” and "sold out" were recently sent over to Jenkins on X, and he was none too happy about it.
One fan told the filmmaker that he was "too good and talented for [Bob] Iger's soulless machine," while another person — who claimed to have interviewed him when “Moonlight” came out — complained, “You can do a Disney movie for the check, in order to work on your passion projects at a later time, but you don’t have to shill like this.”
Disney is very prone to control any filmmaker who directs one of their movies, and I doubt it was any different in this case. The best thing I can say about Jenkins signing on to this prequel is that it could maybe help him fund more personal projects in the future.
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 the1994 animated classic. A sequel was not needed. A prequel isn’t either.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” hits theaters on December 20, 2024.