Mufasa will not be voiced by James Earl Jones in the The Lion King prequel

• Mufasa: The Lion King premiered at the Disney’s D23 expo on September 9th.
• The film will be a prequel to the 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King
• James Earl Jones, who played Mufasa in the 1994 original, will not appear this time.

Disney presented the title, exclusive preview video of Mufasa: The Lion King to the crowd at the D23 event on September 9th.

James Earl Jones, who played Mufasa in both the 1994 original and the 2019 CGI remake, will not appear this time. Instead, Jeremy Irons will come in, while Chiwetel Ejiofor will play the malevolent Scar.

The premise of the film, which was originally revealed in 2020 as a prequel to the 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King, will examine Mufasa’s upbringing and his growing connection with his sibling Scar. Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. will play younger versions of the characters in the film.

Rafiki (John Kani) told the story of Mufasa to young cubs at the expo, revealing that the lion was actually an orphaned cub who had to navigate the world alone until he ascended to become the king of Pride Rock. As a result, the film depicts him as a cub in a desert, where he is swept away by a flood and becomes an orphan.

The film is now in production and will be done in the same photorealistic style as the 2019 remake of The Lion King.

Mufasa: The Lion King. 2024. pic.twitter.com/IkPMk6IDGR

— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) September 9, 2022