Kelvin Harrison Jr, Aaron Pierre set to lead cast for 'The Lion King' prequel
Aug 27, 2021
Washington [US], August 27 : Hollywood stars Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. have been cast as leads for director Barry Jenkins' upcoming Disney prequel to 'The Lion King', in which they will lend their voices for the characters of Mufasa and Scar.
According to Variety, after the studio's 2019 photo-realistic adaptation of the animated classic grossed USD 1.6 billion at the global box office, Disney was eager to return to the vast savanna and greenlit a follow-up project with Jenkins at the helm.
It's unclear what exactly the film will be about, but it's expected to focus on the early years of Mufasa, the regal father of Simba, and his menacing younger brother Scar.
Pierre, who recently worked with Jenkins on the historical TV series 'The Underground Railroad', is set to play Mufasa. Harrison Jr., best known for leading the Trey Edward Shults drama 'Waves', will portray Scar, whose birth name is Taka.
Regarding this prequel, Jenkins previously said, "Helping my sister raise two young boys during the '90s, I grew up with these characters. 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."
Disney is yet to reveal the remaining cast members, though 'The Lion King' prequel will likely be another star-studded affair. The voice cast for the recent remake, directed by Jon Favreau, included Donald Glover as Simba, Beyonce Knowles-Carter as Nala, Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen and as Timon and Pumbaa and James Earl Jones as Mufasa.
At its investor day late last year, Disney revealed that the prequel's music will be coming from Hans Zimmer (who scored the original and 2019 version), Pharrell, and Succession's Nicholas Britell.
As per Variety, Jeff Nathanson, who wrote the screenplay for 'The Lion King' remake movie, will be returning to write.
