The trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King has been officially released, and reactions are not very good. The trailer was released late Friday night (PST) on all available channels after being shown at D23, Disney’s annual fan event, where they tease the future of the many IPs that the Mouse House owns. The live-action but CGI-ridden prequel Mufasa: The Lion King will take viewers to the past to explore the origins of Simba’s father, Mufasa.
Fan reactions didn’t take long to arrive (the trailer has garnered 4.5 million views on YouTube in under 14 hours, with 108 thousand likes), and it seems to be an early sign of what could be yet another divisive live-action adaptation of a classic animated Disney film. Reactions vary, but they tilt much more towards the negative and occasionally become downright apopletic. Comments on MovieWeb’s Facebook post about the trailer range from, “I’m a lot more excited for this than I thought I would be,” to “I prefer watching the animated Lion King trilogy.”
@DeeLaSheeArt and @christiiecat make a strong point in saying how the past may have caused Scar to become the monster in 1994’s The Lion King. The former writes on X, “So Mufasa was an orphan and Scar saved him & got the pact to accept him & somehow he ended up as the Lion King? I would’ve killed his ass too.” Meanwhile, @christilecat writes:
Sorry- how long has it been true that Mufasa was adopted by Scar’s parents? How long has that been a crucial detail in the Lion King story. Because suddenly everything makes sense and I get it I would become such a hater to his little brat too.
@dunebarbie writes, “mufasa being an orphan doesn’t make any f*cking sense. in the original lion king he tells simba about the ancestors in the stars and passed down advice that “his father told him” like he very explicitly knew his lineage??” @kayluckydog posted this along the same lines:
In response to that, perhaps @flamingarc may be onto something with a theory about the Lion King franchise:
The reactions are only a few of multiple fan reactions heard worldwide during D23. This year’s announcements include the new Avatar movie, Avatar: Fire and Ash, the MCU series Agatha All Along, the new Star Wars series Skeleton Crew and a slew of animated movies and shows, including Incredibles 3, Moana 2, Frozen 3, What If…?, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Eyes of Wakanda, and more.
Mufasa: The Lion King is Disney’s New Attempt to Modernize the Classics
Mufasa: The Lion King
Mufasa: The Lion King is a prequel to the live-action remake of the original Disney animated film, The Lion King. The film will follow Mufasa in his early days; further plot details are currently under wraps. The film will likely explore Mufasa and Scar’s relationship and how it became as strained as it did. In the film, Timon and Pumba will return, with Billy Eicher and Seth Rogen reprising their roles.
- Release Date
- December 20, 2024
Mufasa: The Lion King takes viewers on a journey to explore the past of the Pride Lands, before the events we’re familiar with and which have been told in previous films. Apparently, it will be an exploration of how Mufasa and Scar came to be such enemies. The official synopsis goes as follows:
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 was directed by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) in his first attempt at doing a CGI live-action film, and is written by Jeff Nathanson, who previously wrote 2019’s The Lion King for Jon Favreau. It stars Aaron Pierre as Mufasa, Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka (who eventually becomes Scar), Tiffany Boone as Sarabi, Kagiso Lediga as Young Rafiki, Preston Nyman as Zazu, Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter as Nala, Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros, John Kani as Rafiki, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, and Billy Eichner as Timon.
Mufasa: The Lion King
is scheduled to be released in theaters on December 20, 2024.
