New Mufasa Trailer Is Filled With Lion King Prequel Lore

Disney has unveiled the newest trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King, which tries to justify its existence by being filled with lore from other Lion King movies while also addressing previous criticisms of the franchise. 2019’s The Lion King was one of the biggest films of all time, not adjusted for inflation, as it is the tenth highest-grossing movie ever with $1.6 billion. It certainly wasn’t shocking that Disney decided to greenlight a sequel, despite the 2019 remake facing heavy criticism at its release. It has only grown as more audience members seemingly get tired of Disney’s attempts to remake their animated classics.

At D23 Brazil, Disney unveiled the latest trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King, which will play in theaters before Moana 2. The trailer showcases the young Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and his adoptive brother Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), who will eventually grow up to become the villainous Scar, as they look to start their own pride of lions. The trailer showcases how Mufasa met his future wife, Sabari (Tiffany Boone), and Zazu (Preston Nyman), who was initially her scout before he takes on the role to serve as the future king of the Pridelands. The trailer also shows Mufasa meeting a young Rafiki (Kagiso Lediga). The film itself is a story being told by the older Rafaki (John Kani) to Simba and Nala’s daughter, Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), who was first introduced in the direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride.

Featuring Kiara is the first time any of the Disney remakes of their animated classics have pulled any material from the direct-to-video sequels and prequels Disney released in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Mufasa: The Lion King also features Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumba (Seth Rogen) in the present-day scenes alongside Kiara, and the duo will comment on the past events similar to their role in the direct-to-video sequel, The Lion King 1½. For years, the direct-to-video material was looked down upon by both fans and the Disney Animation Studio, but now filmmakers are more willing to embrace and pull from it. Instead of making The Lion King prequel a direct remake of The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride or The Lion King 1½, they are picking up some elements while looking to craft their unique take that will hopefully stave off the criticism of the 2019 The Lion King being the same as the original.

Mufasa Tackles Some Lion King Complaints

In keeping with the tradition of The Lion King, Mufasa: The Lion King pulls its central story from Shakespeare. The Lion King has been compared to Hamlet, while The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride was modeled after Romeo and Juliet. Mufasa: The Lion King‘s emphasis on two brothers being divided over the throne has shades of King Lear. Mustafa will flip the dynamic, with the adopted son becoming king while the firstborn son is denied the throne. Director Barry Jenkins seemingly uses Mufasa to address a common criticism of the original The Lion King in how its story subscribes to the divine right of kings, the idea that kings were chosen by a higher power and destined by birthright. Here, Mufasa will go from being a lowly lion with no claim to the throne to earning the right to be king.

While director Barry Jenkins, whose previous credits include the Academy Award-winning Moonlight and the underrated If Beale Street Could Talk, has earned the benefit of the doubt, the trailer still does look to feature a lot of the same issues that plagued the 2019 film. The use of photorealistic animals and environments makes it look less lively than the original animated movie or its direct-to-video sequels. Meanwhile, finding out great enemies used to be former friends might have sounded promising on paper; Mufasa: The Lion King is the third movie within five months to feature this similar plotline, following Transformers: One and Wicked – Part One. While The Lion King was one of the biggest movies of all time, it doesn’t seem much excitement has translated to its upcoming prequel/sequel hybrid.