Disney Taps Barry Jenkins to Direct “The Lion King” Prequel

He won an Oscar for the script to the best-picture-winning “Moonlight” and was nominated for the screenplay to 2018's “If Beale Street Could Talk”.

He also last year made plans to direct a film based on the life of choreographer Alvin Ailey for Disney's Searchlight Pictures.

Disney didn't announce any further plot details or casting on the new “Lion King” project, which was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.

Read also: Ministry of Manpower to Invest Rp 2 Billion in Indonesia’s Film Industry

Jeff Nathanson, who wrote the 2019 movie, is returning to pen the follow-up.

Directed by Jon Favreau, “The Lion King" featured a voice cast including Donald Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Jon Oliver, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, and James Earl Jones.

Reviews weren't good (52 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) but it was more lucrative than any other “live-action” remake of a Disney classic.

Unadjusted for inflation, 2019's “Lion King” ranks as the seventh highest-grossing film ever. 

(Writer: Jake Coyle) 

Source: https://apnews.com/3c54d1bf84f2628ac6f8ffa362c8d440