We were surprised (though it is Disney, so perhaps we shouldn't have been) that 2019's photorealistic CG re-imagining of The Lion King would be getting a sequel, and even more genuinely shocked to note that Moonlight and The Underground Railroad creator Barry Jenkins is in the director's chair. It's already under way, but the news is now that it's a prequel and Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre are leading the voice cast.
Harrison, who appeared in The Trial Of The Chicago 7 and Waves, will play the younger version of Mufasa, in the story of his and Scar (Aka Taka, to give the lion his birth name) grew up and apart. Pierre, who worked with Jenkins on Railroad, has the latter role.
Jeff Nathanson wrote the script for the new movie, which has yet to lock in a release date. It'll use similar techniques to Jon Favreau's film, and Deadline brings word that more casting announcements are on the way, including some potentially big names.