New Trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King Released

Disney reveals a new trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King prequel at D23

By Matthew Aguilar

Disney delivered a host of first looks at anticipated projects during their stacked presentation at D23, and one of the big trailers at the show was for the upcoming prequel film Mufasa: The Lion King. As the name suggests, the prequel follows the early days of Mufasa and shows fans how he came to become King of the Pridelands, and as you can see in the trailer below, it moves in some intriguing new directions. The trailer reveals the first meeting between an orphaned Mufasa and a young cub named Taka, who will go on to become known as Scar down the line. While they aren't blood-related, they become like brothers, and it's up to them to defend their family and friends against another pack of Lions who look to take the land for themselves. You can watch the full trailer in the video below.

Big Changes

In the original Lion King, we see Scar usurp the throne after killing Mufasa and trying to frame Simba for his death. Those events take on a different and even more impactful meaning upon learning that the two were incredibly close throughout most of their youth, and it was actually Taka who pushed for his family to take Mufasa in after their chance encounter.

The trailer shows the two becoming quite close, with Taka even saying how he always wanted a brother. They get into all sorts of hijinks along the way, and Taka has to push back against his family's wishes to not dilute the bloodline by keeping Mufasa around. That leads to events where Taka and Mufasa are trying to defend themselves and their family against the rising threat of Kiros, voiced by Mads Mikkelsen. How we get to the point of their falling out remains to be seen, as there are several different versions of those events in other works.

In an interview with Reader's Digest, The Lion King producer Don Hahn said, "We talked about the fact that it was very likely [Scar and Mufasa] would not have both the same parents. The way lions operate in the wild...when the male lion gets old, another rogue lion comes and kills the head of the pride. What that does is it causes the female lions to go into heat, and then the new younger lion kills the king and then he kills all the babies. Now he's the new lion that's running the pride."

"There was always this thing about well, how do you have these two [male] lions?" Hahn continued. "Occasionally there are prides that do have two male lions, in an interesting dynamic because they're not equals [since they don't share parents]. One lion will always kind of be off in the shadows. We were trying to use those animal truths to underpin the story, so we sort of figured Scar and Mufasa couldn't really be from the same gene pool."

What Is Mufasa About?

"Mufasa: The Lion King enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka – the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny – their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe."

Mufasa: The Lion King features the voice talents of Aaron Pierre (Mufasa), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Taka/Scar), John Kani (Rafiki), Kagiso Lediga (Young Rafiki), Billy Eichner (Timon), Seth Rogen (Pumba), Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), Tiffany Boone (Sarabi), Thandiwe Newton (Eshe), Lennie James (Obasi), Anika Noni Rose (Afia) Keith David, Masego, and Mads Mikkelsen (Kiros).

Mufasa: The Lion King hits theaters on December 20th.

Are you excited for Mufasa: The Lion King? You can talk all things Disney with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

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