And so we return to the Pride Lands for this live action (well… not really) account of OG Lion King Mufasa’s formative years. In fact, it’s a sequel and a prequel, which makes it a bit like The Godfather: Part II if you squint a bit.
When is Mufasa: The Lion King being released in New Zealand?
Mufasa: The Lion King roars into New Zealand cinemas on December 19.
Mufasa: The Lion King
What is Mufasa: The Lion King about?
Lions and hereditary rule.
But more specifically, the film sees wise old mandrill Rafiki tell Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara about the exploits of her late grandfather, Mufasa, back in the day, while warthog Pumbaa and Meerkat provide humorous colour commentary. Other than that, your guess is as good as ours—we’re all just going by the teaser trailer, which you can see below. But, reading between the lines and hazarding a guess, it looks like Mufasa was adopted and Scar, the villain of The Lion King, might be the rightful heir to the throne? Maybe we can get #JusticeForScar trending…
The cast of Mufasa: The Lion King
Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad, Old) is Mufasa; Kelvin Harrison Jr. is Taka, who later gets an insensitive nickname referencing his facial difference; Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner return as Pumbaa
and Timon; legit legend John Kani is Rafiki—and speaking of lions, do check him out in the criminally underrated The Ghost and the Darkness; Donald Glover and Beyoncé are back as Simba and Nala; Mads Mikkelsen is lending his lungs to Kiros, a lion with “big plans for the pride”, which almost certainly means he’s a Nazi-coded villain; and Blue Ivy Carter makes her first appearance in a film not directed by her mother as Kiara, following what was no doubt a gruelling and exhaustive audition process.
Mufasa: The Lion King trailer
Why we’re excited about Mufasa: The Lion King
Look, we’re a bit cynical about prequels and Disney live action adaptations of their own animated films, and this is a hybrid of both, but we have buried the lede a bit—it’s directed by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk), which means there’s at least a chance it could be brilliant.
