Mufasa director Barry Jenkins ends Lion King debate on whether its animation or live action

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Exclusive: The director explains how making the Disney prequel required "very different tools"

mufasa the lion king
(Image credit: Walt Disney Pictures)

Mufasa director Barry Jenkins has addressed a long-standing debate surrounding 2019's remake of The Lion King, which now affects the upcoming prequel too. Should they be classified as animated movies or live action?

In an exclusive interview with GamesRadar+ and Total Film, Jenkins gives a very definitive answer about Mufasa. "Absolutely, yeah, it's an animated film," he asserts.

"I am communicating constantly with these animators who are trying to manipulate these somewhat photorealistic sort of models in a way that is expressive. And so because of that, I don't think of it as live action. I do think of it as animation… It's just a very different tool."

The film brings back part of the cast from the 2019 film, including Donald Glover as Simba, Beyoncé as Nala, Seth Rogen as Pumba, Billy Eichner as Timon, and John Kani as Rafiki, while Rebel Ridge star Aaron Pierre joins the group as Mufasa.

Other newcomers include Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka, Tiffany Boone as Sarabi, Kagiso Lediga as Young Rafiki, Preston Nymon as Zazu, Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros, Thandiwe Newton as Taka's mother, Lennie James as Taka's father, Ankia Noni Rose as Mufasa's father, and Beyoncé's daughter Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, daughter of Nala and Simba.

Matt Maytum
Matt Maytum
Former Editor of Total Film magazine

Matt Maytum is the former Editor of Total Film magazine. Over the past decade, Matt has worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+. Bucket-list-ticking career highlights have included reporting from the set of Tenet and Avengers: Infinity War, as well as covering Comic-Con, TIFF and the Sundance Film Festival.