Raquel Laguna/ SUCOPRESS. Actors Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. star in Mufasa: The Lion King, directed by Barry Jenkins. Aaron and Kelvin play Mufasa and Taka in the movie. In this interview, both actors talk about being part of The Lion King legacy, and about how they feel stepping into the world of such an iconic story. Exploring the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands, Mufasa: The Lion King enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe. The film also features Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Theo Somolu, Braelyn Rankins, Anika Noni Rose, John Kani, Tiffany Boone, Kagiso Lediga, Preston Nyman, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Keith David, Donald Glover, Blue Ivy Carter, Folake Olowofoyeku, Joanna Jones, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, Abdul Salis, Dominique Jennings and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Blending live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery, the all-new feature film is produced by Adele Romanski & Mark Ceryak, and executive produced by Peter Tobyansen. Mufasa: The Lion King, in theaters on December 20th, 2024.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00I was honestly terrified I was terrified to embark on this journey because of the
00:09enormity that it had for me you know to approach a character that is so
00:17celebrated and championed you know I'd be lying to you if I said that that
00:21didn't strike any fear in me it certainly did but I really just leaned
00:25into that and tried to mold it into something that propelled me forward as
00:32opposed to prohibiting me and really was guided by James Earl Jones entirely
00:38guided by James Earl Jones that was my guiding light throughout the entirety of
00:41the process I had fun with it I got it wrong I tried again and I think that's
00:50the beauty in any sort of experience like this so we're really excited for
00:55people to join us and see it December 20th try not to project the original
01:01version on to him as a kid because that was the thing was like I came in with an
01:05idea and I was like which was a common like young actor mistake honestly I was
01:10like well he's the villain so I'm gonna come and play the young version of the
01:13villain and that wasn't the story we were making and Barry really encouraged
01:17me to humanize him at some points he told me he said um sometimes it sounds
01:22like you are ready to just stab Mufasa in the back now and I was like ah right
01:26let me reel it in a little bit so that was the hardest part was not just
01:32putting an idea on him but making a real-life kid that was gonna become a
01:37grown man that we know respect to some love for some and are feeling a little
01:45bit dumb discouraged by this father's I love them lines prior to being invited
01:57to join this family of Mufasa the Lion King this was my favorite Disney film
02:02honestly as a child I watched the V8 my VHS tape version of this countless times
02:09I think the first time I probably watched it I was maybe two or three so
02:14in 96 or 97 and almost immediately it became my favorite and I've said before
02:21you know because of the things at that time I was of course too young to have
02:25the language for it but I understand now that subconsciously at that time it was
02:30set on the continent of Africa it was celebrating that continent it was
02:37celebrating everything that that is the environment the community the culture
02:40and I felt seen by it and I think that's why I watched it so often on my
02:46own with my family with my friends so to now be you know a 30 year old man going
02:54and having the opportunity to be part of this it's a dream come true and I'm
02:58pinching myself to this day yeah I think what was so beautiful about their
03:02original relationship was that they saw something in each other they saw each
03:06other in each other and I think that's such so common and what I what I'm
03:13excited about is to see how kids feel about if I ever get to talk to any kids
03:18about this movie but maybe I will how they feel about what the kids are so
03:23smart now the communication and protecting your loved ones protecting
03:27the people that you that you claim as yours and trying to navigate in salvage
03:33whatever is left because it's it's so few and far between what we have
03:36something a genuine connection with somebody we have to protect that and I
03:40think we've done that in our friendship and I think that's what was really
03:46special about the movie I always wanted to brother is a banger and it's a banger
03:49for so many reasons it means a lot but it's also just a great song