Kevin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre voice the sequel to The Lion King
The sequel to the live-action version of "The Lion King" entered the casting stage. A few days ago, the film announced the voice cast. Two black actors, Kevin Harrison Jr. and Aaron Pierre, have joined the cast and will voice Scar and Mufasa.
Barry Jenkins, the director of "Moonlight Boy" and "If Beale Street Could Talk", will join the crew to direct the film. In addition, the original screenwriter Jeff Nathansen will also return to the crew of the sequel and continue to serve as a screenwriter. It has been reported that the film will adopt the structure of "Godfather 2", depicting Simba's life while using flashbacks to trace Mufasa's growth process. The animated version of The Lion King has several sequels and spin-off movies. However, these films are not of high standard and do not have much reference value, so they will not have any impact on the storyline and character shaping of the live-action version of "The Lion King 2". For being able to direct films, Barry Jenkins said: "In the '90s, when I was helping my sister take care of her children, I was very fond of 'The Lion King.' The opportunity to work with Disney to make this marvellous film about love, friendship and legacy is a rare opportunity. In addition, I was able to get up close and personal with Africa and understand the people and souls there, which for me was a dream come true. ”
The live-action version of "The Lion King" grossed $1.6 billion worldwide in 2019. On a technical level, it is by far the highest-grossing cartoon in the world. Barry Jenkins, who will be in charge of the film, is currently the most well-known black director in the United States, and in 2016, his self-written and directed feature film "Moonlight Boy" was released in the United States and won the 89th Academy Award for Best Picture, for which he was nominated for the Best Director Award at the 89th Academy Awards.