Mufasa: The Lion King‘s trailer was accompanied by a major casting reveal that hints at what Disney’s next live-action remake will be. Academy Award-winning director Barry Jenkins will helm the next installment in the Lion King franchise, with Mufasa: The Lion King‘s story promising to be a prequel to the 2019 film. The first trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King offered audiences a first look at the project, complete with the film’s full cast list.
As expected, John Kani returns as Rafiki, serving as the film’s narrator. However, there were some surprising inclusions to Mufasa: The Lion King‘s prequel timeline. Both Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen will reprise their roles as Timon and Pumba, as will Donald Glover and Beyonce from The Lion King. These inclusions confirmed the film to be both a prequel and a sequel to 2019’s The Lion King, with the most surprising new cast announcement linking more to the latter, while also seemingly revealing Disney’s next live-action Lion King movie.
The surprise casting announcement in question was the reveal that Blue Ivy Carter, Beyonce and Jay-Z’s daughter, will have a role in Mufasa: The Lion King. This came as a shock to many, though most would agree that Blue Ivy Carter’s Lion King role is perfect as she will voice Kiara. Kiara is the daughter of Simba and Nala first introduced in The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, the direct-to-video sequel to the original 1994 Lion King.
With the majority of Mufasa‘s story being a prequel centered around the titular king, Kiara’s role begins to make sense. The trailer for Mufasa hinted that Kani’s Rafiki will narrate the legend of Mufasa, likely to Kiara, who will not be aware of her grandfather’s legacy. This is a logical way to involve sequel elements in Mufasa: The Lion King, though the confirmation of Kiara’s character could take this one step further.
Shortly after the trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King was released, Empire conducted an interview with director Barry Jenkins. In this interview, Jenkins confirmed that the film is both a prequel and a sequel, hinting that Kiara’s story will be influenced by the events of The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride. That said, Jenkins was quick to point out that “there’s some stuff from the canon… but it’s its own thing.” These comments that Mufasa: The Lion King‘s sequel elements stand on their own could prove that Kiara’s story will not be a direct remake of The Lion King II.
Therefore, Kiara’s journey in Mufasa could serve as its own prequel of sorts, setting up the foundations of Disney’s next live-action remake: a direct adaptation of The Lion King II:Simba’s Pride. The Lion King is a massively successful franchise for Disney, enough that a prequel/sequel – Mufasa – was greenlit. With this in mind, it would be logical to assume that Mufasa: The Lion King is not the final live-action film in the franchise, and that another sequel centered around Blue Ivy Carter’s Kiara could be on the horizon.