Mufasa – A Walk With The Mouse

Last week, Disney hosted the D23 Expo, the ultimate fan event. At the Expo, Disney hosted so many great panels that let Guests hear from casts of upcoming films and series like The Santa Clauses, as well as past hits like Encanto. In addition, Disney hosted a Disney and Pixar film panel — where cameras were not allowed — and they shared more info on upcoming films like Snow White and Inside Out 2. They also announced that some new series would be coming down the pike — like The Lion King prequel, Mufasa: The Lion King.

The D23 Expo may have ended, but that does not mean that the news has stopped coming. While Disney announced a number of projects at the Expo, most of them did not have release dates — until now. Disney waited until this week to officially announce their slate, which includes the pushing back of the highly anticipated live-action film, The Haunted Mansion. The movie — which will star Rosario Dawson, Tiffany Haddish, Danny DeVito, Jamie Lee Curtis, and Jared Leto — was supposed to be released on March 10, 2023, but will now premiere on August 11, 2023.

After The Haunted Mansion, Disney will release its newest animated feature, Wish. Disney also shared that Pixar’s next film Elio — the story of a young boy who meets aliens — will be released on March 1, 2024. That will be followed up by the highly-anticipated, but also highly controversial, live-action remake, Snow White on March 22, 2024. Next up? Disney announced that Mufasa will be released on July 5, 2024.

Here’s what we know about Mufasa: The Lion King — it will show the future king as he washed away in a flood. Alone and struggling, Mufasa must find a new pride to become a part of. The film will show that Mufasa was not born into royalty, he learned it. The series will also feature the popular sidekicks, Timon and Pumbaa — who will once again be voiced by Billy Eichner and Seth Rogan.

As for Wish, the film will tell the story of Asha, who lives in the fairy tale kingdom called the Kingdom of Wishes. The film will show viewers the origin of the famous Wishing Star but, of course, not everything goes smoothly in this kingdom and Asha learns that there is a dark side to her idyllic home. West Side Story star Ariana DeBose will voice Asha.

One of Disney’s most classic — and successful — films of all time is the 1994 animated film The Lion King. The Lion King told the story of lion cub Simba, who had to go on a journey of self-discovery after his father, Mufasa, is killed by Simba’s evil uncle, Scar. After years of being away from his pride, Simba sees a vision of his father and returns to his family, ready to take over the throne from his vicious uncle.

The Lion King was so successful that Disney made it into a live-action remake, which was released in 2019. And now, we have more Lion King news to share. At this year’s D23 Expo, Disney shared that a new prequel called Mufasa: The Lion King will premiere sometime in 2024.

Barry Jenkins — director of the new movie — gave the audience more details about what the film will be about.

‘Mufasa’ is the origin story of one of the greatest kings in the history of pride lions… Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa — we all know and love — are relaying the story of Mufasa…

What viewers may find most surprising is that Mufasa was not born into royalty. Even though he seems as though leading is in his blood, he was actually orphaned as a cub.

“Mufasa was actually an orphaned cub who had to navigate the world alone, by himself. In telling this story, we get to experience the real journey of how Mufasa found his place in the Circle of Life. It is pretty awesome.”

During the D23 panel, Disney shared an exclusive clip of the film, but it has not been made public yet. In the preview, a young Mufasa is seen hanging precariously onto a log as it is swept away during a flood. Mufasa must then make his way to a new pride and find a new family.

While it was confirmed that Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa will be in the prequel, Jenkins did not mention Mufasa’s brother, Scar. Scar was such a large part of the original Lion King — and the one responsible for Scar’s death — it would seem inevitable that he make an appearance in the prequel.

Jenkins would also not confirm if James Earl Jones would return to voice adult Mufasa.

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