To celebrate the anticipated release of Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, the prequel to 2019’s live-action remake, we had the pleasure of chatting with the cast and director about the new film.
Mufasa: The Lion King enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands, introducing an orphaned cub called Mufasa (Aaron Pierre), a sympathetic lion named Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jnr) —the heir to a royal bloodline—and their expansive journey alongside an extraordinary group of misfits.
Chatting first to Pierre and Harrison Jnr, we talk about seeing the original film for the first time, their newly monikered “Alvin” name, working with Barry Jenkins and the lure of the story and Disney, the art of voice acting, and more. We also talk about the 1994 video game and Harrison Jnr’s quest to complete it ever since.
We also chat to Mads Mikkelsen about playing the film’s villain, his unique place on the grand Disney film catalogue, why he still loves playing bad guys, overcoming his fears of singing for the film, the impact of the story since 1994, and some James Bond/Casino Royale reminiscing as the 20th anniversary creeps closer…
Next, we talk to Barry Jenkins about the three-year odyssey to bring the film to the screen, why the lure of the story and the relationships convinced him to direct the film, casting, working with CGI, and the artists behind it all, and much more. Finally, Billy Eichner tells us all about reprising his role as Timon from the first film, the challenges of voice acting and the subtleties he found to get into the character, working with Seth Rogen again,n and his singing collaboration with OG Timon, Nathan Lane.
You can watch all our interviews below:
Mufasa: The Lion King opens in UK cinemas on December 20th.
