Profound: The Mufasa-based Lion King prequel is currently under production

Is Mufasa coming back? Well, Mufasa is all set to make a comeback – fans have known Simba all these years, but now they will acknowledge Mufasa’s childhood and wisdom.

The Story of Mufasa

There is a reason why Simba was destined to be the king, and that was due to the morality and wise upbringing of Mufasa. So, ladies and gentlemen, get ready to meet our new Lion King. But, this time, the story is slightly different.

King Mufasa has always been the inspiration for previous Lion King movies, but nobody ever came to know his story. Why did King Mufasa become the king in the first place? What made him the Lion King?

Methodically, it is not new; Mufasa was the first king of Disney’s The Lion King. But his scene was cut short because the story was more focused on Simba and his childhood. But this time, the upcoming prequel to the classic animated film, which was transformed into a “live-action” remake a few years ago, will focus on the childhood of Simba’s father, Mufasa.

Mufasa’s story

The mystery behind Mufasa’s life and growing up will unfold in the upcoming movie.

Accordingly, keeping the prequel in mind, Disney announced at D23 that they are coming up with the movie with the official title being Mufasa: The Lion King.

The audience will get to know more up and close. This time the focus is on Simba’s father and uncle.

For a long time, the project has been under talks, and the storyline development started several years ago. The makers of the previous movies put a lot of ideas forward. However, they handed it over to Barry Jenkins.

Barry Jenkins, the director of the Oscar-winner Moonlight, will navigate this new project. His creative side will bring newer perspectives and views to the story.

The new project focuses on the original story of Mufasa and his brother Scar and how they grew up to become two different personalities. The story will focus on their childhood days and how they get to know and follow the jungle rules.

Disney recently revealed the official logo for the project at D23. It has already created a frenzy among the fans who have been long-time followers of The Lion King franchise.

The casting of members

The last update the media gave about the project was that some of the casting members had already been in talks to work on the project. They shared the news of trying to find the appropriate cast in August 2021 for the respective characters of the young Mufasa and Scar.

Aaron Pierre previously appeared on Barry Jenkins’ Underground Railroad. He will be playing the role of young Mufasa, as decided by now. On the other hand, Kelvin Harrison Jr., who was recently seen in The Trial of the Chicago 7, has been signed in to play the character of Taka.

In the original storybook, The Lion King: A Tale of Two Brothers, Taka and Mufasa are shown as brothers and legitimate heirs to the throne. They are shown as the sons of another king of Pride Rock named Ahadi. As far as the story goes, this upcoming prequel will follow approximately the same broad contours of the previous storyline.

A different perspective view

The audience will get to see how Mufasa and Taka grew up under the discipline and strict rules of Ahadi. It is interesting to see Mufasa in his childhood and that he was the original Lion king before Simba stepped in his shoes.

Barry Jenkins hopes the audience will get a deeper and broader knowledge of the life of Simba’s father and that he was a true King before Scar deceived him.

We all know that The Lion King remains one of the most beloved Disney movies in the history of Hollywood animated movies. Disney created the original movie almost in and around the golden period of Hollywood animations.

The success of the original movie

The original film grossed over one billion dollars, and after the worldwide success, a remake was accomplished, which grossed another 1.6 billion dollars worldwide.

The Broadway version of the movie debuted in 1997, which has been a super hit and still plays eight shows a week with housefull in New York.

The most authentic and outstanding fact is that the Broadway version has supposedly grossed almost one billion dollars in its history, which is bombastic for almost any Broadway show.

Barry Jenkins is the perfect man

For any other director, this project would sound like an opportunity to make as many gold coins as possible as they would find the project to add as many dollars as possible. As an obvious factor, the whole story is more of a bankable property.

But since Barry Jenkins is involved, you have to be curious and eager to see what he is up to with the great prospect of Mufasa.

Nandini