The Lion King, the live-action remake of the 1994 Disney classic was a massive hit worldwide despite its mixed reception by critics. It’s no surprise then that a sequel is on the cards, at least according to Hollywood gossips. And the latest pop news tells us that Disney has roped in Barry Jenkins to direct the sequel. The Oscar-winning director of 2016’s Moonlight will be helming the film, which will continue using the photo-realistic technology that we’ve seen already in last year’s The Lion King and 2016’s The Jungle Book.
What plot the movie will explore is uncertain at the moment. However, there are reports that it will follow Mufasa’s origin story in flashbacks while also moving Simba’s story forward. It’s still too early to be certain about that though, since only an initial draft of the script has reportedly been completed by Jeff Nathanson, who had also screen-written the 2019 hit. There’s no word on the cast year, but we’ll keep an eye out for the latest Hollywood gossips to tell you more.
The Lion King 2 will be an interesting change of landscape for Barry Jenkins, who has directed not just Moonlight, but also If Beale Street Could Talk, which had bagged him a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at last year’s Oscars. He told Deadline, “Helping my sister raise two young boys during the ’90s, I grew up with these characters. 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 folk within the African diaspora is a dream come true.”
Jon Favreau had directed The Lion King and his absence from this project is not surprising. After all, he’s known for rebooting popular Disney franchises and moving onto other ones. The Jungle Book and The Mandalorian are prime examples. There’s no release timeline in sight for Lion King 2, but don’t expect it to launch for the next two years at least.
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