Disney showed off more from its upcoming photorealistic prequel Mufasa: The Lion King.
A trailer that debuted Friday during the Disney Entertainment Showcase at D23 showcases a different, more innocent side of the young “brotherhood” that Mufasa and Scar develop before their relationship is ultimately fractured.
Watch the trailer, which served as the finale to the three-hour Disney presentation, above.
Audiences at D23 were also treated to a scene from the film that even featured a new song, penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The song, titled “I Always Wanted A Brother,” depicts appears in a scene where Mufasa and Scar are young cubs. They quickly become friends and, eventually, more like siblings as the song progresses and they grow into young adults.
“That’s the first voice you will hear in Mufasa,” Miranda said, adding that he was in the middle of writing Encanto when he received a screenplay. But, upon reading it, the music began to form in his head in a way that compelled him to take on the project.
A prequel trailer already dropped back in April. The movie will be the centerpiece year-end holiday film, releasing on December 20. See the new poster below.
Pic is helmed by Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and kicks off with the baboon Rafiki relaying the legend of Mufasa to his granddaughter Kiara. According to the trailer description, the story will be told in flashbacks and follows Mufasa (meaning “king” in Swahili) as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka — the heir to a royal bloodline.
Aaron Pierre will voice the titular Mufasa. Kelvin Harrison Jr., Mads Mikkelsen, and Thandiwe Newton will also voice key characters. In an addition, Blue Ivy Carter will voice Kiara, while her mom Beyoncé will return to play her onscreen mother Nala. Tiffany Boone will voice Sarabi.
Other returning voice cast members from the 2019 The Lion King include Donald Glover as Simba, and Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner as Timon and Pumbaa, respectively.