Mufasa: The Lion King Trailer Released by Disney

Disney's Lion King prequel arrives in theaters this December.

By Charlie Ridgely

The long-awaited first footage from Disney's Lion King spinoff film is finally here. Mufasa: The Lion King will act as a prequel to 2019's photorealistic Lion King remake from Jon Favreau. This new adventure, from director Barry Jenkins, focuses on the younger lives of Mufasa and Scar.

Disney unveiled the very first trailer for Mufasa on Monday morning, offering movie fans the first chance to see what the prequel has in store. You can check out the full trailer in the video above!

Disney announced the first trailer for Mufasa on Sunday, via a post by Good Morning America. The morning show shared a photo from Mufasa on Sunday, along with the news that the trailer would be coming first thing Monday morning. GMA has been used as a debut method for quite a few trailers from Disney over the years.

Aaron Pierre stars as the titular lion in Mufasa, with Kelvin Harrison Jr. starring as Taka. The film will also see the return of characters like Timon, Pumbaa, and Rafiki, with their actors from 2019's The Lion King set to reprise their roles. Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, and John Kani will all be back, though we don't know how big of a role their characters will have.

Barry Jenkins and The Lion King

A photorealistic Lion King prequel for Disney was not what a lot of movie fans had in mind for the next project from Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins. The director behind Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk, and The Underground Railroad partnered with Disney to tell the story of Mufasa and Scar, and despite the surprise amongst fans this is a story Jenkins has been personally connected to for a long time.

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"I grew up with this characters, they mean so much to me," Jenkins told Variety. "I think the work that Jeff Nathanson, the writer, did and going back into really helping children and anyone who ever loved this property understand what it takes. Kings aren't just born, they aren't just made. They have to become who they are through a series of events that a lot of people can relate to. So, in that standpoint, it fits very well with everything else I've done. So I feel no pressure, I just want to do a good job."

Mufasa: The Lion King is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 20th, just in time for the holiday season.

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