THE LION KING Director Jon Favreau Addresses Why James Earl Jones Was Brought Back For The Remake
With The Lion King remake swinging into theaters in nearly a month, director Jon Favreau explains why James Earl Jones' Mufasa is one of the few carryovers from the original classic . . .
Since the original film debuted in 1994, James Earl Jones's vocals as Mufasa have remained iconic throughout the past two decades. The remake, which also celebrates the 25th anniversary of the classic, sees James Earl Jones reprise his role as the powerful King.
In an interview with Empire, director Jon Favreau was asked about how the legacy casting came to be, as well as the process working with the legendary voice actor:
I see it as carrying the legacy across. Just hearing him say the lines is really moving and surreal. The timbre of his voice has changed. That served the role well because he sounds like a king who’s ruled for a long time.
It makes sense to see why Favreau returned to Jones, not only for his immaculate voice, but as a metaphor for the passing of the baton to this younger cast and this new iteration.