Mufasa actor Aaron Pierre pays tribute to late original Lion King star James Earl Jones: "His portrayal of Mufasa was my guiding light"
Nov. 28, 2024Exclusive: The star of the Disney prequel feels like the original Mufasa is “everyone’s dad”
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Mufasastar Aaron Pierre had big shoes to fill in the Lion King prequel, as the late James Earl Jones' voice performance in the originalDisneyclassic is nothing short of iconic.
TheRebel Ridgeactor, who voices a younger version of Mufasa in the upcoming movie, took on this challenge with the utmost reverence for Jones, as he tells GamesRadar+ and Total Film in anexclusive interview.
“James Earl Jones is a hero of mine, and a hero of many,” Pierre says of the legendary actor, whopassed awaylast September.
Though Mufasa director Barry Jenkins said there was never a plan for Jones to appear in the film given its place in the timeline, his presence will always loom large over any Mufasa story.
Pierre continues: “He was one of my greatest inspirations, from his stage work to his extensive filmography, to his voice work. He’s timeless. We celebrate him. We champion him. And he’ll be greatly missed.
“In regards to this, his portrayal of Mufasa was my guiding light, actually. It gave me clarity. It gave me direction. It gave me insight. I think my greatest challenge was to discover the adolescent version of this Lion King who has an abundance of wisdom and understanding and perspective. What was the trajectory of that lion? How did that lion arrive at that place? That was my greatest challenge. And I’m very grateful to Barry [Jenkins] for guiding me on that journey.”
Pierre calls The Lion King his “favorite Disney”, and harbors strong nostalgic feelings of wearing out his VHS copy back in the day.
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“I’ve heard a lot of people say when discussing The Lion King that Mufasa, to them, feels like everyone’s dad. That was true to me as well.”
Mufasa: The Lion King explores the early life and formative years of the character, who goes from being an orphaned cub to a respected king. The story will also cover the events following, after Mufasa’s death and Simba’s rise to power.
Alongside Aaron Pierre as Mufasa, 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.
I’m the Editor at Total Film magazine, overseeing the running of the mag, and generally obsessing over all things Nolan, Kubrick and Pixar. Over the past decade I’ve worked in various roles for TF online and in print, including at GamesRadar+, and you can often hear me nattering on the Inside Total Film podcast. 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.
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