'Mufasa: The Lion King' Director Barry Jenkins describes Blue Ivy Carter's performance as the character Kiara in the film while chatting with THR at the premiere. Plus, he describes his collaborative relationship with Lin-Manuel Miranda while working on this film.
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00:00I wanted to know, why was it important to tell this story via flashbacks?
00:04Yeah, well, I don't consider it being flashbacks. I feel it's like a pre-sequel.
00:08You know, there's a story that's happening in the present tense with Kiara, played by Blue Ivy,
00:13and Dr. John Connie, who just happen to be both the eldest and the youngest members of our cast.
00:18And then, yes, you're seeing the story that's being told through these characters of a young
00:22Mufasa, a young Taka, aka Scar, a young Rafiki. I thought it was really lovely because in Kiara,
00:28if you're a child in the audience, you're looking, where do I see myself in the film?
00:32You see yourself in that character. And so, as she's evolving and growing from the lessons she's
00:37learning and the stories she's being told, children in the audience are doing the same
00:40thing as they're watching the film. And speaking of Blue Ivy Carter,
00:44what was it about her that made you say, yes, this is my Kiara?
00:48You know, this movie starts purely in voices, and I heard her perform my friend Matthew Cherry's
00:53novel, Hair Love, as an audio book. And I love that in this film, the actress,
01:00it's just about the voice. I don't care what you look like, how tall you are, what your hair is
01:04like. If you can communicate that emotion with your voice, you have the part. She gave a great
01:09audition. And somehow, I just felt like Kiara is the daughter of a king and queen. And I do think,
01:17in some ways, Blue Ivy is the daughter of a king and queen. And yet, she has this really wonderful
01:23humility, a self-centeredness, a self-possession that I found to be really invigorating and rich.
01:29And she just crushed this, absolutely crushed her.
01:31Did you ever think about making her sing for the film?
01:35No, that's Lin-Manuel's job. Nobody can blame me or thank me for the songs they have in this movie.
01:43But no, we didn't. Especially because, in the role that she's in, being the children's eyes
01:49and ears in this movie, she is here to receive and react, and not so much to express the way
01:58the songs do.
01:59What was it like collaborating with Lin-Manuel on this film?
02:02It was really great. I've never directed a musical, and I love knowing what I do know,
02:07and also acknowledging where that knowledge ends. And so I really leaned on Lin and expressed to him
02:12how I wanted to make sure the songs were serving the narrative, and not distracting from it,
02:19not taking away from it. And he really embraced that. And together, we sort of worked on,
02:23why do we need a song here, and how is it advancing the story we're telling?
02:27And obviously, this is a really big franchise that you've stepped into.
02:30So do you see yourself continuing doing those type of films, or go back to more indie-type films?
02:36Why can't I do both? Why can't I do both?
02:38You know, in the span of the time that we've made this,
02:41we also finished The Underground Railroad and put that out, a very different project than this.
02:44And we produced a film called Aftersun, directed by Charlotte Wells, and Aldrich
02:48Rhodes' Taste of Salt, directed by Raven Jackson, and True Detective Night Country,
02:52directed by Issa Lopez. So we're always doing multiple things at once. And the same way Jeff
02:57Nathanson wrote an amazing script that completely took me by surprise, if someone else did the same
03:01thing, because there's so much more story to be told here, who knows?
03:04What do you think the audience is going to be the most surprised to find out on this film?
03:09I don't know if they'll be surprised, but I loved when I first read the script.
03:13You know, there's this notion of good and evil, and we assume that
03:16Taka Asghar is evil purely because he is, and Mufasa is great purely because he is.
03:23And I love the complexity of going through their lives and showing how this choice versus that
03:28choice, this parenting versus that parenting, can kind of put you on the path to where you're
03:33evolving, but you're evolving into the worst version of yourself versus the best version
03:37of yourself. I think it's a really rewarding and rich thing to explore with these characters that
03:42are so intimately connected to so many audiences around the world.
03:46Absolutely, and what do you want people to take away after watching this,
03:49after going home and letting them marinate, what do you want them to take away from it?
03:53Oh, just that this idea of nature versus nurture, you know, and hopefully just through watching
03:58this film, especially with the deep connections we have to these characters when we walk into
04:02the cinema, this idea of nature versus nurture, and maybe looking around in our lives and seeing
04:07how there are so many people around us every day who could evolve to be their best or their
04:12worst selves based on how we treat them. And the last question, we're asking everyone,
04:17what was their favorite movie of 2024?
04:19Oh, so far, The Nickel Boys, 1,000%, 1,000%, point blank, period. You know, I watched it
04:26twice in like three days. Love, love, love that movie. Rommel Ross, he is a true visionary,
04:32a true artist. That film is extraordinary.