The original king of lions is getting his own origin story — and will be joined by real-life queen Beyoncé and her daughter Blue Ivy Carter.
Mufasa: The Lion King, Disney’s new prequel to the 2019 blockbuster live-action Lion King, debuted its first trailer on Monday, April 29, giving a stunning glimpse of Mufasa (voiced by Aaron Pierre), Scar (Kelvin Harrison Jr.) and their home in the African Pride Lands.
Beyoncé, 42, reprises her role as Nala from the 2019 film. Blue Ivy, 12, voices the daughter of King Simba (a returning Donald Glover) and Queen Nala, named Kiara — a character who last appeared in 1998’s animated The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride.
Moonlight Oscar winner Barry Jenkins directs the newest addition to Lion King’s cinematic universe, which is scripted by Catch Me If You Can writer Jeff Nathanson.
Disney
An official synopsis for the film reads: “Simba, having become king of the Pride Lands, is determined for his cub to follow in his paw prints while the origins of his late father Mufasa are explored.”
Reprising their roles as Timon and Pumbaa from the 2019 Lion King are Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen, respectively. Also announced as part of the voiceover cast are Thandiwe Newton, Anika Noni Rose, Keith David, Mads Mikkelsen and Tiffany Boone.
John Kani, meanwhile, returns as the voice of Rafiki, who narrates the story of Mufasa to the lion’s granddaughter Kiana.
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It’s the shamanic mandrill who can be heard intoning in the new trailer, “This story begins far beyond the mountains and the shadows, on the other side of the light.”
As a lion cub in the savanna gazes at his reflection in an approaching rain droplet, Rafiki introduces the titular character, “Born without a drop of nobility in his blood — a lion who would change our lives forever.”
Mufasa will feature original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The Hamilton composer joins the film’s music team with Hans Zimmer (who scored the 1994 animated film and 2019 remake), Pharrell Williams (who collaborated on the 2019 version) and Nicholas Britell.
The trailer includes snippets of South African music legend Lebo M’s vocals from the original film’s “Circle of Life.”
Disney
Jenkins tells PEOPLE exclusively that watching Beyoncé, “both on the screen and behind the screen, get to be a mother — and how that affected and impacted for the better the work that we were all doing — was just really awesome.”
Mufasa: The Lion King is in theaters Dec. 20.
