The teaser trailer for "Mufasa: The Lion King" dropped Monday and has already generated a buzz around its star-studded cast, which includes Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter.
The decision to cast the mother and daughter together was something that director Barry Jenkins told People was "something really lovely" that he said would make the photorealistic-animated prequel to the hit 1994 film "The Lion King" a "time capsule."
In the film, Beyoncé, 42, who voiced Queen Nala in the 2019 Lion King remake, will reprise her role while Blue Ivy, 12, will portray the character's daughter Kiara.
"The two of them together, the few scenes that they have," said Jenkins, "you'll just see, I think it's going to be really impactful for the two of them."
The duo had already begun their voiceover work earlier in the years-long production.
"There was such a long process of making this film that the Renaissance tour happened and we started making this film back in 2020 or 2021," he said, adding that it was "long before" the release of Beyoncé's Renaissance album.
"Mufasa: The Lion King" features other familiar faces from the 2019 remake, such as John Kani as Rafiki, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, and Donald Glover as Simba, CNN noted.
Beyoncé's return to the Lion King cinematic universe "was very important" to Jenkins, as well as screenwriter Jeff Nathanson and the filmmaker team.
"She is Nala, and she was down to work," the director continued, adding that she was "the queen."
The film will see Aaron Pierre in the title role and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka aka Scar. Commenting on their casting, Jenkins recalls the two actors "both understood that what we know of those characters is very rich and interesting, but what they're helping the audience discover about those characters is just as important."
"Mufasa: The Lion King" will also star Thandiwe Newton, Mads Mikkelsen, Keith David, and Anika Noni Rose.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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