Lion King Prequel Casts Young Mufasa & Scar, James Earl Jones Not Returning

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The Lion King 2, the prequel to 2019's The Lion King, has cast its two leads. The remake of the 1994 animated classic was a massive hit when it opened in theaters in 2019, earning $1.6 billion at the worldwide box office and becoming the second highest-grossing film of 2019. Like with other successful remakes of Disney animated films, the studio went to work on crafting another installment.

In 2020, Academy Award-winning director Barry Jenkins announced he had signed on to helm a prequel to The Lion King. While the animated Lion King film had a number of sequels, this film will explore an untold tale in the franchise as it will focus on a young Mufasa and a young Scar and show how the brothers became bitter rivals. Jenkins has described the film as a prequel akin to The Godfather Part II, and said he was blown away by the script.

Jenkins is now hard at work on the project and casting has begun. According to Deadline, Aaron Pierre has been cast to voice Mufasa after having previously worked with Jenkins on The Underground Railroad. Kelvin Harrison Jr. has been cast as Taka, who will grow up to become the iconic villain Scar. In the 2019 film, Mufasa and Scar were played by James Earl Jones and Chiwetel Ejiofor, respectively.

The two actors have already forged quite a career for themselves. Pierre not only starred in The Underground Railroad but played the role Dev-Em on the Syfy series Krypton and can currently be seen in M. Night Shyamalan's Old. Harrison Jr.'s first film roles were small parts in 2013's Ender's Game and 12 Years a Slave, and since then has gone on to star in films like Mudbound and It Comes At Night. 2020 was a big year for the actor as he was seen in The Photograph, The High Note and the Academy-Award nominated Trial of the Chicago 7. His next film will be the Baz Luhrmann helmed Elvis where he will play legendary singer/songwriter B.B. King.

One of Barry Jenkins's greatest talents as a filmmaker is casting and being able to spot new fresh talent. Many of his films were the breakout for their various stars, like Kiki Layne, whose feature film debut was If Beale Streets Could Talk. She later landed roles in highly coveted projects like The Old Guard and Coming 2 America. Dominique Thorne had a small role in If Beale Streets Could Talk and is now set to headline her own MCU series as Riri Williams, aka Ironheart, after appearing in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Moonlight was the first onscreen acting credit for Janelle Monáe who has since gone on to star in Harriet, Antebellum, and the upcoming Knives Out 2. With that track record, Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. could be the next in-demand stars after The Lion King 2.

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