The upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King will feature a tribute to the late James Earl Jones, according to director Barry Jenkins.
What type of tribute will Mufasa: The Lion King have?
Speaking to Variety, Jenkins revealed that the upcoming movie will pay homage to Jones in the film’s opening credits. His voice plays before a card that reads “In Remembrance” to honor the legendary actor.
“When I think about what James Earl Jones means, not even just to me, but to global audiences — people know this — I grew up without a father figure, and you go in and you watch this art, you watch these films, sometimes these fathers in these movies become a stand-in for that,” said Jenkins. “They become these father figures.”
Jenkins went on to explain that, when Jones passed away, it felt like it would be impossible to sit through the movie without honoring in him some way.
“It felt like we had all lost a patriarch,” Jenkins said. “We had all lost this man who meant so much. It felt like there was no way you could sit in this movie – go through an hour and 40 minutes — and not honor him in some way. You would be thinking about the ways in which you wanted to honor him, so it felt like we had to do it at the very front. The studio agreed right away, and we tried to find something that was very simple, but also very clear and very powerful.”
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Mufasa is directed by Jenkins from a screenplay written by Jeff Nathanson. Just like the first installment, the film blends live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery.
It features the voices of Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., John Kani, Tiffany Boone, Kagiso Lediga, Preston Nyman, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Anika Noni Rose, Keith David, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Donald Glover, Blue Ivy Carter, Braelyn Rankins, Theo Somolu, Folake Olowofoyeku, Joanna Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, Abdul Salis, Dominique Jennings and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
“The film explores the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands. Rafiki relays the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick,” reads the official synopsis. “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.”
(Source: Variety)
