Welcome back stinkers! Disney has now released a first look at Barry Jenkins’s Mufasa: The Lion King. This new movie will be a prequel to the live action Lion King from 2019. Today I will be breaking down the trailer to the best of my ability, and then give you, my thoughts.
Mufasa in Snow
From Disney, we see these animals in a new environment. Rafiki goes on to say, “This story begins far beyond the mountains and the shadows.” In the picture above we see three lions, joined by Rafiki. My guess would be that the front lion is Mufasa’s wife Sarabi, the next closest one I think is Mufasa, and the one all the way in the back is Scar. I think Mufasa and Scar could be interchangeable in this view, but it just kind of looked like the one in the back had the dark detailing Scar has.
The original Lion King takes place in the pride lands, located around South Africa. So, when I tried to connect the dots, the four here would have to be in the Drakensberg Range of South Africa. This story is telling how Mufasa came to be king of the Pride lands. In the trailer we then see baby Mufasa in this desert/savannah area. So, what are these four doing here? My theory is that they might be on a journey to find a home, to find their pride.
Rafiki’s Narration
John Kani returns as Rafiki, narrating the story of Mufasa’s childhood. We see him in his tree from both depictions of this tale. I think that Rafiki will be sharing the spotlight as narrator with none other than Pumbaa and Timon. Seth Rogen (Pumbaa) and Billy Eichner (Timon) are returning for this movie, which we do get a look at later in the trailer. I guess that’s where I should get into the description provided with the trailer. The description says, “Mufasa: The Lion King” enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. So that’ll be how Donald Glover as Simba fits in here. That helps me support a lot of different things that we get in the trailer.
Baby Mufasa
“A lion was born without a drop of nobility in his blood.” We see Mufasa as a little cub, but it doesn’t exactly look like he’s in the pride lands. It looks more like a desert type area. Are we going to see baby Scar? This story is going to show how Mufasa and Scar went from brothers to enemies. Circling back to my guess on what’s going on through this film. I think we’re going to see Mufasa and Scar grow up together, and when they get into that young adult phase, their relationship might be at its breaking point. We’re going to see Mufasa find his calling as king, and Scar is going to get jealous, like the lion we’ve always known him to be.
Mufasa and Taka
The movie description mentions a new lion, Taka. These two cubs hop across hippos, and across water, in a typical Lion King fashion. This other cub I have a feeling is this, Taka. Taka is set to be voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr. I think Taka will be sort of a friend that is like Mufasa’s Nala. Nala was a confident young cub, that showed similar sequences with Simba. I think that Taka, which was described to be a part of a royale bloodline, will show Mufasa all of these new things. That is when Mufasa and Scar will be on their journey to their next kingdom.
Mufasa’s Death?
We then see this shot of a stampede of gazelle or some other animal. This does look like that cliff face from Mufasa’s death. This could either be the opening of the story, or what they wrap the movie up with. This might be a great way to wrap up the film actually. As they tell the story of Mufasa, the audience will grow even closer with Mufasa, and if they were to circle back to his death, it might just be a tearjerker.
The Earth Will Shake
We get a great look at Rafiki where he says, “The world will shake!” As he says that, this whole cliff crumbles. This might be the thing that sort of debunks my theory on revisiting Mufasa’s death. Cause when it crumbles you can see this heard run by. Now, I might be wrong, and this is the same stampede that kills Mufasa. I just don’t exactly remember any rocks falling.
We then see more of this new snow biome, with what looks like a young Mufasa, chasing a young Sarabi. Something that’ll probably be huge for Mufasa’s character arc are these people showing him these new things. If it’s not Sarabi, then it’ll most likely be Taka. We see Taka and Mufasa as cubs running across hippos, this might be another case, where they are running after each other, this time they’re young adults.
We even see a shot of Zazu, voiced by John Oliver. It is unclear whether or not he’ll return for this time around, but it looks like the bird himself could have a cameo role. This might be another case where we circle back to events from the original story, and this is where we can see a cameo from Zazu. Fingers crossed that John Oliver returns.
The Circle of Life
We then get a shot at a young Rafiki with a young Mufasa. I would only guess that this is going to be a touching moment for Mufasa. They’re in that same snowy biome from before. I guessed that these guys are going to be finding the best pride for Mufasa, and they pass through the snowy mountains. My guess is that they are about to leave, and this is where this moment takes place.
We then quite frankly get an actual circle of life. I would really have no clue what is going on here. Of course, this isn’t something that happens in nature. My guess is that it might be a part of this song sequence, and the animals just breakout into some sort of dance.
Mufasa in the Stars?
Ok so this is really interesting. We see face of a lion in the sky, as this cub walks towards it. I don’t think this is Mufasa looking up at the sky. I think it might be Simba’s daughter, Kiara. They might be in the middle of telling her this story, and when nighttime comes around, Mufasa is looking over her.
Mufasa in Danger?
We then see a ton of different shots of what looks like Mufasa in a ton of danger. We him as a cub swimming to the top of the water and being chased by an alligator. As we look at Mufasa soaking wet in the water, people have been able to point out how he shows a lot more emotion in here. I think if they are able to overcome the criticisms of emotion from the 2019 movie, then you could make yourself an amazing movie here. One thing that is worth noticing is a young Mufasa stuck at the ledge of this cliff. We then see adult Mufasa at that same cliff, near that same waterfall.
As we get these shots, we get this one where Mufasa and Scar are running from each other. This might just be a breaking point of Scar, and a first of his many offenses against his brother.
Pumbaa and Timon
We then see a lion go against the dynamic duo, Pumbaa and Timon. I think this might be one of the climax fights with Mufasa going up against scar. The movie description has included the fact that Pumbaa and Timon will be a big part of the narration, with their signature schtick. This could be a comedic moment where Timon and Pumbaa are telling this kid the story, and just replaced Mufasa with themselves, making themselves seem like the cool ones. That would explain why Timon launches off of Pumbaa, about to punch this lion. We then end the trailer off with a baby Mufasa, making a leap of faith across this pond.
Trailer Thoughts
I really enjoyed what this trailer provided! I was filled with glee at the fact that Lin-Manuel Miranda is returning with new and original songs. Just from the trailer alone, the music was able to coney with the emotion very well. The CGI animation looks better than ever, and it looks like it’ll be just as good as the 2019 version, even better. Mufasa: The Lion King comes out December 20, 2024.
Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to check out my breakdown of the new Mufasa trailer. I’ve recently made a most anticipated list for upcoming movies coming out during the summer of 2024. Make sure you check out The Big Stinker Blog for more coverage on movies, TV shows, gaming, and more. So, until next time stinkers! Bye bye.