The follow-up to the 2019 live-action film The Lion King is in the works at Disney. Oscar winner Barry Jenkins (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk) is set to direct the movie.
The story will focus on the early years of Mufasa, originally voiced by James Earl Jones in the animated film from 1994 and the 2019 remake. The film will use the photo-realistic technology that was used by Jon Favreau in the 2016’s The Jungle Book as well as the 2019 film. Favreau directed the recent remake which opened to mixed reviews but generated over $1.5 billion at the global box office.
“Helping my sister raise two young boys during the ’90s, I grew up with these characters,” Jenkins said. “Having the opportunity to work with Disney on expanding this magnificent tale of friendship, love and legacy while furthering my work chronicling the lives and souls of folk within the African diaspora is a dream come true.”
Jeff Nathanson will be writing the script. He also wrote the screenplay for the 2019 movie, along with hits like Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, Catch Me If You Can, and Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3.
Disney has not announced a release date or even a production start date for the sequel. It is not yet known if any of the cast from the 2019 film will be returning.
