Mufasa: The Lion King is kind of a blend of a prequel and an extension of The Lion King‘s sequel, The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride. The star of The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride is after all, Kiara, who will feature in this Mufasa-oriented movie as well. Rafiki will tell the lion cub all about her grandfather and his grand adventures. We’ll see Mufasa’s story in flashbacks, and also Scar’s. The relationship between the lion brothers is key in this film. The full trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King already had us ready and excited to return to Pride Rock and the film’s final trailer hypes us up even more. You can watch them in full below:

In these looks at the movies, we see a lot of familiar faces—including Timon, Pumba, Zazu, Rafiki, Kiara, and more. It sure does put us in a nostalgic mood. Young Zazu is absolutely like we imagined he would be.

In addition to the trailers, the synopsis for Mufasa: The Lion King fills in more of the blanks about the upcoming prequel story. It shares:

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.  

mufasa trailer scar and mufasa
Disney

Bringing this movie to life are Aaron Pierre as Mufasa, Donald Glover as Simba, John Kani as Rafiki, Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon, Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, and Beyoncé in her epic return as Queen Nala. There are also plenty of other stars involved in the Mufasa movie as well and that includes Mads Mikkelsen’s fierce lion Kiros.

Disney

Mufasa: The Lion King will release in theaters on December 20.

Originally published on August 9, 2024.