Actors from ‘Mufasa’ are amazed to be part of ‘Lion King’ prequel

ESCONDIDO, CA — The stars of “Mufasa: The Lion King”, Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., and Tiffany Boone, talked to On The Red Carpet about their roles as the three main lions in the upcoming Disney film.

Pierre lends his voice to Mufasa, the central character and Simba’s father, first seen in the original ‘Lion King’ movie from 1994. Harrison Jr. portrays Taka, Mufasa’s adoptive brother, whom fans recognize as the notorious villain, Scar. Boone takes on the role of Sarabi, a lioness who captures the attention of the two males, challenging their fraternal bond.

The new movie, hitting theaters on December 20, marks the second collaboration between Pierre and Harrison Jr. They previously played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in Nat Geo’s “Genius: MLK/X.” Harrison Jr. humorously refers to Pierre as his “big brother,” citing their close ages. Pierre then clarified that while they are indeed close in age, their birthdays are actually just a month apart.

Boone revealed to On The Red Carpet what if feels like to see her character on screen as an animal singing, “Strange. Yes, when I finally saw it or even when we would see some of the sketches come to life it was like ‘this is really, really strange’ especially how intense the technology is. It’s so life-like.”

Speaking of “intense,” Pierre opened up about starring in a highly anticipated film hitting theaters before the holidays, “I’m very nervous but you know I’m really hopeful that people will connect with this and it resonates with people whether they choose to see it on their own or with their loved ones, I just hope people leave feeling inspired and feeling joyous!”

Boone shared similar sentiments about voicing Sarabi. “It’s an amazing opportunity to be in this cast of actors, to be working with (Lin-Manuel Miranda), to be working with (director) Barry (Jenkins). It’s one of those moments where you have to pinch yourself and be like, ‘oh, ok you are in this amazing opportunity, what are you gonna do with it and hopefully be present in it.”

Pierre says he’s pinching himself too.

“I still can’t quite believe that this is a reality,” He said. “So, I’m still pinching myself and I’m happy to be pinching myself with other people who are pinching themselves about this movie.”

“Mufasa: The Lion King” will be in theaters on December 20.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of this ABC station.