Disney has released the final trailer for Barry Jenkins' Mufasa: The Lion King showcasing characters like Mufasa, Scar, Sarabi, Rafiki and Zazu before they called Pride Rock home.
Like 2019's The Lion King, this movie looks visually stunning; the key difference here is that we're getting an original story rather than what many felt was little more than a shot-for-shot remake of the 1994 cartoon from filmmaker Jon Favreau.
Similar to this summer's Transformers One, it looks like we'll meet many familiar characters in their early years and watch as the friendship between Mufasa and Taka (a.k.a. Scar) crumbles and ends with them becoming bitter enemies.
Exploring the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands, 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.
The movie stars Aaron Pierre (Mufasa), Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Taka/Scar), Tiffany Boone (Sarabi), Kagiso Lediga (Young Rafiki), Preston Nyman (Zazu), Mads Mikkelsen (Kiros), Thandiwe Newton (Eshe), Lennie James (Obasi), Anika Noni Rose (Afia), Keith David (Masego), John Kani (Rafiki), Seth Rogen (Pumbaa), Billy Eichner (Timon), Donald Glover (Simba), Blue Ivy Carter (Kiara), Braelyn Rankins (Young Mufasa), Theo Somolu (Young Taka), Folake Olowofoyeku, Joanna Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, Abdul Salis, Dominique Jennings, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (Nala).
Blending live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery, the all-new feature film is produced by Adele Romanski & Mark Ceryak, and executive produced by Peter Tobyansen.
The Lion King made over $1.6 billion in 2019 so we'd imagine Disney has high hopes for this prequel. Whether the movie can reach the same heights in a post-COVID theatrical landscape is another matter, but we'll be shocked if it doesn't dominate the holidays.
Mufasa: The Lion King opens in theaters worldwide on December 20.