It looks like we are getting more live-action ‘Lion King’ films in the near future. According to Deadline Disney has just brought on Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) to direct. Jeff Nathanson (The Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), who wrote the last film, will also be returning with an initial draft for the new film.
Like the live-action The Lion King from 2019, this one will continue with the “photo-realistic” lions that many felt didn’t capture the emotions of the original. However, it’s going to be a new story so it isn’t just a straight up remake of an existing property.
We don’t know a lot about the next film, but we do know that it’s going to “further explore the mythology of the characters, including Mufasa’s origin story. Moving the story forward while looking back conjures memories of The Godfather: Part II, set on the African plain with a continuation of the tradition of music that was a key part of the 1994 animated classic, the 2019 film and the blockbuster Broadway stage transfer.”
At this time there is no official word on a release date, timeline, or if any of the voice cast from the last live-action ‘Lion King’ will be returning for this one.
Frankly I just wish Disney would return to animation and creating new IPs and stories, but this gets a bit of a pass since it’s not just a rehashing.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Source: Deadline
Photo credit: FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES
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