While the movie may have been a critical bomb, Disney's "live-action" The Lion King still made a lot of bank in the box office, and a follow-up was expected. Just in, we have news that Disney has found someone to helm the next Lion King film.
According to Deadline, Moonlight director Barry Jenkins has been hired to helm the movie. The first film was directed by Jon Favreau, who is now busy working on Disney+'s The Mandalorian; there is no mention of his involvement when it comes to the sequel. Script duties, however, will once again be up to Jeff Nathanson.
While The Lion King already had a sequel with Simba's Pride, it looks like this movie is going to be putting its own twist on the story with an origin story for Mufasa to be told a la The Godfather: Part II. We don't know if we're going to be following the story of Kiara and Kovu for this sequel, but I do like the idea that the Lion King movies are based on Shakespeare, with the first film based on Hamlet and the sequel drawing inspiration from Romeo & Juliet.
Also, the sequel may not be as great as the original, but they did have some great songs.
No release date has been set for the Lion King sequel, but hopefully, we get some updates soon. With productions still very risky in times of COVID-19, animated films like The Lion King are the more "safe" movies to produce in the meantime, with everyone allowed to work remotely.
Read Also: Disney's Bob Iger Apologizes to Elementary School for $250 The Lion King Bill
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!
Disney