2019's live-action The Lion King movie came under fire for essentially being a shot-for-shot remake of the classic 1994 movie. However, from a technological standpoint, the movie was nothing short of a masterpiece, utilising incredible technology for its photorealistic animal leads.
For a time, there were rumblings that filmmaker Jon Favreau might return to helm a sequel which, rather than adapting The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, would be an original tale. He's since shifted his attention to The Mandalorian & Grogu, leaving Disney to enlist Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins for an exploration of Mufasa and Scar's early years in the prequel movie, Mufasa: The Lion King.
Footage was shown to investors at a recent Annual Meeting of Shareholders earlier this week and it's now started doing the rounds on social media (via Toonado.com).
We're only talking about a few seconds here, but we see the young Mufasa surveying his future kingdom before an older lion is shown alongside The Lion King's Rafiki (John Kani is expected to reprise the role in this prequel). The clip ends with the young Mufasa leaping through the air.
Aaron Pierre is set to take over as Mufasa from the iconic James Earl Jones and is all too aware that he has big shoes to fill.
"Well, first and foremost, I want to acknowledge that James Earl Jones is an enormous inspiration of mine," the actor said earlier this year. "Massively. And I feel very honored to be walking into this role after him. I think the key difference will be that here we're exploring Mufasa in a different capacity."
"When Sir James Earl Jones portrayed him, this is Mufasa in his full capacity, in his rhythm, and I think here we're exploring Mufasa prior to that point," Pierre adds. "What does this young lion look like before he is who we know him as, and he is discovering his rhythm, how he conducts himself, how he engages with his community and his loved ones? So, I think that's the key thing. It's figuring it out."
We're intrigued to see where this movie will take the characters we all know and love from The Lion King, particularly as Kelvin Harrison Jr. is playing Scar in a movie which is likely to serve as an origin story for Mufasa's future killer as well.
Mufasa: The Lion King arrives in theaters on December 20, later this year.