Mufasa: The Lion King Photo Released by Disney, First Trailer Announced

Five years after Jon Favreau turned a photorealistic remake of The Lion King into a billion dollar blockbuster for Disney, the company is retuning to Pride Rock with a new story. Mufasa: The Lion King hits theaters this December and tells the tale of a younger Mufasa and Scar, with Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. starring in the lead roles. There are a lot of questions as to what the prequel film might bring, and fans may start to get some answers this week as the first trailer for Mufasa arrives.

On Sunday, Good Morning America shared a brand new official image from Mufasa: The Lion King, along with news of the film’s trailer. The Disney-owned morning show will be unveiling that trailer first thing Monday morning, revealing the very first public footage from the film. Some footage was shared during CinemaCon 2024, but only those who attended the event were able to see it.

The photo from GMA shows a young lion cub leaping from a tree. There wasn’t a lot of other information, but it feels safe to assume the cub in question is Mufasa.

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.

“I grew up with this characters, they mean so much to me,” Jenkins told . “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.