A sequel to the 2019 live action The Lion King is in the works. The writer of last years film, Jeff Nathanson, is returning and he already has a draft of the script ready to go. Another writer, Barry Jenkins, will be directing the film, and his most notable work is Moonlight, which he also directed and which also won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2017. His other notable work is If Beale Street Could Talk, which was an Oscar nominee, one of the actresses of the film, Regina King, won Best Supporting Actress.
Image via Indiewire
So, this movie has some great people to bring this sequel to life. However, the movie is going to take a different direction than the original sequel, The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride. The original followed Simba’s daughter Kiara and her love interest Kovu, who is part of Scar’s pride, and how the two fall in love and plot to bring their prides together. This new sequel is going to be more of an origin story for Mufasa. The music will be a continuation of the music from the 2019 film and it will use the same photo realistic technology as used before.
Image via Metro.Co
This sequel sounds like it’s going to be great but it would have been nice to do a live action version of the animated sequel. However, that sequel is often overlooked and this new story is one that people will be excited to see. Some of the music from the broadway play will also be incorporated into the film, which is exciting for those that have seen that adaptation.
The stars that led their voices to the 2019 film haven’t been confirmed to return to lend their voices. Those stars included Donald Glover and Beyonce, who voice Simba and Nala respectively, and the original voice of Mufasa, James Earl Jones, as well as many other actors. Fingers crossed they return for the sequel.
While we wait for this to hit the big screen, you can watch the 2019 film right here and all of the animated films as well. Even the animated series Timon and Pumba.