Lion King Sequel Gets the Greenlight

Disney has recently announced they have plans to make on a live-action Lion King (2019) sequel with Barry Jenkins attached to direct. Jenkins won an Oscar for Best Picture for Moonlight and received an Oscar nomination for his writing of the screenplay for If Beale Street Could Talk.

Also attached to the film is Jeff Nathanson, who wrote 2019’s The Lion King. Nathanson stated, “Having the opportunity to work with Disney on expanding this magnificent tale of friendship, love, and legacy while furthering my work chronicling the lives and souls of folks within the African diaspora is a dream come true.”

While Disney is keeping a tight lid on the details of this upcoming film, including if the original cast is set to return, it has been confirmed that this movie will focus on Mufasa’s origin. The movie will not be a prequel, however, and will instead focus on continuing the stories of the characters that already exist in the 2019 film.

The Lion King sequel does not have a release date or a production start date. However, given the success of the first photo-realistic movie, this film with be given high priority.