Aaron Pierre Says He Learned Lessons in Rebel Ridge He Brought to Mufasa

What does a conspiracy-drenched thriller have to offer the Lion King prequel? We asked Aaron Pierre.

By Russ Burlingame

Former Krypton star Aaron Pierre is set to star in one of the most anticipated movies of the holiday season with Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King, but before that, he's headed to Rebel Ridge. The Netflix movie, set for release later this week, centers on "an ex-Marine grapples his way through a web of small-town corruption when an attempt to post bail for his cousin escalates into a violent standoff with the local police chief," per Netflix's logline. The role gave Pierre a lot of room to play in a morally gray world where his character's own values are the only thing he has to guide him.

He told ComicBook that with each project, he tries to internalize the lessons from the work and from the characters, and to use that going forward. That meant that he -- and the long-in-production Mufasa -- evolved along the way, thanks in part to Rebel Ridge.

"I think for me, I really have to give [director Jeremy Saulnier] his flowers and I really have to articulate my gratitude," Pierre told ComicBook. "I think that this is an individual who has numerous traits that I don't possess, so I was deeply grateful to have the writer/director nearby and accessible on and off set at any time to answer any questions that I had, and really do any deep dives that I needed. It's not easy to bring such nuanced characters to life. As much as it's a privilege and it's a tremendous opportunity that you're excited by...it's deeply challenging, so it was great to have Jeremy available all the time to really just work out how we're going to bring this individual to life in an authentic and hopefully truthful way that resonates."

"Interestingly, I think -- I only wrapped Mufasa this year and we've been doing that for a good few years now," Pierre added. "I think in a way, similar to life, your life experiences inform your future life experiences. Similarly, the opportunities that you're gifted as an actor, as an artist, what you learn and what you harnessed from one job, you take those lessons that you absorbed and you bring them to the next thing to hopefully enhance your capability to bring something to life."

Here's the official synopsis for Rebel Ridge: 

Terry Richmond (Aaron Pierre) enters the town of Shelby Springs on a simple but urgent mission-- post bail for his cousin and save him from imminent danger. But when Terry's life's savings is unjustly seized by law-enforcement, he's forced to go head to head with local police chief Sandy Burnne (Don Johnson) and his combat-ready officers. Terry finds an unlikely ally in court clerk Summer McBride (AnnaSophia Robb) and the two become ensnared in a deep-rooted conspiracy within the remote township. As the stakes turn deadly, Terry must call upon his mysterious background to break the department's hold on the community, bring justice to his own family-- and protect Summer in the process.

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From the acclaimed writer/director of Green Room, Blue Ruin and Hold The Dark, Rebel Ridge is a deeply human yet high-velocity thriller that explores corruption and morality in the context of bone-breaking action and ever-coiling suspense. Produced by Anish Savjani, Neil Kopp, Vincent Savino and Jeremy Saulnier, Rebel Ridge also stars David Denman, Emory Cohen, Steve Zissis, Zsané Jhé, Dana Lee and James Cromwell.

Rebel Ridge comes to Netflix on September 6, 2024.

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