Beyoncé is reprising her as Nala for the forthcoming Disney film Mufasa: The Lion King and she won’t be alone. The Grammy Award-winning singer is set to star alongside her manager daughter, Blue Ivy, in the new animated film.
Source: Kevin Mazur/ Kevin Winter / Getty Images for The Recording Academy
PEOPLE reports that Disney’s upcoming prequel to the 2019 blockbuster The Lion King, will see 12-year-old Blue Ivy lend her voice to the character of Kiara, the daughter of King Simba and Queen Nala. Kiara last appeared in the 1998 animated film The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride. Beyoncé will once again grace the screen as Queen Nala, while Donald Glover reprises his role as King Simba.
Source: Disney / Mufasa: The Lion King
Fans of the beloved Lion King franchise received an exciting preview of the highly-anticipated Disney film directed by Barry Jenkins on April 29, as a trailer was unveiled on the Walt Disney Studios YouTube page. In the short teaser, Mufasa, voiced by Aaron Pierre, was depicted alongside Scar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), traversing their African Pride Lands.
While not depicted in the trailer, returning cast members include Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, who will star as the hilarious Timon and Pumbaa, and John Kani, who will take on the voice of Rafiki for the second time. Other cast members include; Tiffany Boone who will star as Mufasa’s future queen, Sarabi, Kagiso Lediga as young Rafiki; Preston Nyman as Zazu; Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros; Thandiwe Newton as Taka’s mother.
A synopsis for the film reads;
“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. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.”
Fans are excited to see Beyoncé and Blue dominate the big screen together including the film’s director, Barry Jenkins. In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly (EW), Jenkins shared insights into why he believed Blue Ivy would be an ideal fit for the role of Kiara. The 44-year-old Black filmmaker expressed confidence in the young talent, citing her exceptional voiceover performance in the award-winning short film Hair Love, which earned Blue an Oscar.
“A buddy of mine, Matthew Cherry, made the short film called Hair Love that Blue Ivy did the audiobook of. Starting this project and just having that in the ether, I was like, ‘Is it worth a shot? Would Blue Ivy want to do it? Would Beyoncé want to act opposite her daughter? Is it too close to home?’” Jenkins told EW.
Jenkins, renowned for directing 2016’s Moonlight, expressed his delight when Beyoncé approved Blue’s involvement in the project. He disclosed that their voice-over sessions were completed before the mother-and-daughter duo embarked on the Renaissance World Tour, where Blue gained viral attention for her onstage dance with Beyoncé to “MY POWER,” a track featured on The Lion King soundtrack in 2019.
“What’s crazy is we made the film, and then the Renaissance tour happened, and I think Blue really grew up over the course of that tour,” Jenkins said to EW. “So the Blue Ivy you see in this film, it’s like a time capsule, this very, very, very young stage of her life, and she got to share it with her mom. So, I thought there was some synergy. It could be beautiful.”
Will you be watching Mufasa: The Lion King when it hits theaters on Dec. 20?