James Earl Jones won't voice Mufasa in 'The Lion King' prequel

On September 9th, Disney announced the title, exclusive preview footage of the Mufasa: The Lion King to the audience at D23 expo.

James Earl Jones, who was the voice of Mufasa in both the 1994 original and the 2019 CGI remake, will not be featured this time around. Instead, Jeremy Irons will be filling in for that role and Chiwetel Ejiofor will voice the villainous Scar.

Originally announced in 2020 as a prequel to the 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King, the plot of the movie will explore Mufasa’s childhood and his relationship growing up with his brother Scar. The film will feature the voice of Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as younger versions of the characters.

At the expo, the footage began with Rafiki (John Kani) telling the story of Mufasa to young cubs, revealing that the lion was actually an orphaned cub who had to navigate the world alone until he rose to become the king of Pride Rock. As such, the film goes beyond the iconic Pride Lands to show him as a cub in a desert, where he is swept away by a flood and becomes an orphan.

Directed by Barry Jenkins, the movie is in production and will be made in the same photorealistic way like the 2019 remake of The Lion King.