You know, we heard about the possibility of Barry Jenkins directing a Lion King prequel a few years ago, and we’ll be real with you — we thought this was one of those projects that gets announced in the trades and then dies on the vine for whatever reason. After all, it’s not like the Jon Favreau-directed faux-live-action remake replaced the original movie in any household, nor did it perform as well critically or commercially as one might have thought it would back in the halcyon days of 2019 (remember when you made all those billions of dollars that summer, Disney? Ah, those were the good ol’ times).
But sometimes, an idea is just so misguided that it just has to make itself manifest in the world: Hence, the trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King, which dropped earlier on Monday (April 29) morning. It’s got everything we didn’t like about the first remake, only this time it also has original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Jesus. We hope that Jenkins has cooked up something special here, but it’ll be an uphill battle.
Peep it:
Here’s a grammatically weird synopsis:
“‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka — the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny — their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.”
That first sentence is just a strange one, man. Just say “Simba enlists” or something.
Anyway, Mufasa: The Lion King hits theaters on December 20, and, you know what, go see it. Take the whole family. Why? Because we want to see what goofy bullshit prequel idea Disney cooks up next. Let’s do a whole movie about Bambi’s mom with the same technology.