How “Mufasa” pays tribute to James Earl Jones: 'It was something we had to do'

Mufasa: The Lion King begins by honoring the past. In light of the death of original Mufasa actor James Earl Jones, who died Sep. 9 at the age of 93, the entire film opens with a tribute to the late thespian.

Against a black screen, Jones' famous speech as Mufasa, which he first performed for the 1994 Disney animated classic, begins to resound. "Look at the stars," he tells the audience as he explains how "the great kings of the past" are always looking down on us. "Whenever you feel alone, just remember...those kings will always be there to guide you, and so will I," he says.

The screen then reveals text that reads, "In remembrance of James Earl Jones."

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Jones, who voiced Mufasa in both the original Lion King movie and the photo-real CG-animated reimagining from 2019, did not record new material for Disney's Mufasa prequel. However, director Barry Jenkins felt compelled to honor the late actor in some way.

"I was actually doing some early, early press, almost an hour before Mr. James Earl Jones passed," the filmmaker behind Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk recalls to Entertainment Weekly. "I remember both intellectually preparing myself for that conversation, but emotionally thinking about, 'What am I going to do?' or 'We have to do something for 30 years [the anniversary of the original Lion King].' I grew up without a father figure. I think for a lot of people this character and that voice is synonymous with this idea of a surrogate father, or at least the example of what a father-son dynamic should be like. I wanted to find a way to honor that."

Jenkins closed his eyes and imagined himself sitting in a theater. "I heard his voice," he continues. "It just felt like it was something that we had to do." Disney was "absolutely on board," he adds, and so he went into the edit of the film and built the moment into the movie.

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Jenkins listened to "every line [Jones] recorded for the previous film" in order to "feel the full spectrum" of that performance as Mufasa. In choosing the "kings of the past" speech for the tribute, "It wasn't an intellectual choice," the director notes. "It was a gut choice."

In Mufasa: The Lion King, Braelyn Rankins (Doom Patrol) voices the future king of Pride Rock as a lion cub, while Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge) voices the character for the majority of the movie. The story follows a young Mufasa as a great flood separates him from his parents. He's taken in by the pack of Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the lion who will grow to become the Scar of The Lion King. The arrival of Kiros (Mads Mikkelsen), a white-haired lion ruling an aggressive pack, sets both Mufasa and Taka on a journey across Africa itself.

It's a tale told to Kiara (Blue Ivy Carter), the lioness cub of King Simba (Donald Glover) and Queen Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter), in the present day by Rafiki (John Kani), Timon (Billy Eichner), and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen).

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The cast also features Tiffany Boone as Sarabi, Kagiso Lediga as young Rafiki, Preston Nyman as Zazu, Thandiwe Newton as Eshe, Lennie James as Obasi, Anika Noni Rose as Afia, Keith David as Masego, and Theo Somolu as young Taka.

Mufasa: The Lion King will play in theaters starting Dec. 20.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly