Summary

• Collider’s Perri Nemiroff sits in
  Mufasa: The Lion King
  Director Barry Jenkins and songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda.
• The sequel tells the story of how a young Mufasa first met his friend and brother Taka, voiced by Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr.
• In this interview, Jenkins and Miranda discuss the virtual production tools used for the film, creating an original soundtrack, and their own found families within the industry.

For Disney’s sequel Mufasa: The Lion Kingthey won the Oscar-winning writer and director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) to bring this original story to the big screen, as well as Grammy Award-winning songwriter Lin Manuel Miranda (Encanto), who is no stranger to the wonderful world of Disney. In addition to a stellar vocal cast, this duo have worked their magic on an origin story that will re-introduce audiences to a beloved character and Collider’s Perri Nemiroff had the opportunity to chat with them all about it.

In Mufasa, Aaron Pierre And Kelvin Harrison Jr. lend their voices to the young orphan who would one day become king of the Pride Lands and Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The two lions are bonded as brothers and embark on an epic journey together that will ultimately show how their paths diverge in completely different directions. The sequel brings back The Lion King‘S Donald Glover, Beyonce, Seth Rogen, Billy EichnerAnd John Kaniand introduces Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara, Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros, Keith David as Masego and more.

During their conversation, Jenkins and Miranda discuss Pierre’s nuanced take on the voice that originally became famous James Earl Jonesthe new tools that Jenkins will bring to future projects (“Moonlight Part 3“), their own found families, and the research and work Miranda put into the film’s original soundtrack. You can watch the full interview in the video above or read the transcript below.

From Moonlight to Mufasa, Barry Jenkins is always about character

“I love conversations, whether verbal or non-verbal…”

PERRI NEMIROFF: Barry, what’s special about your directing approach, which stays the same from project to project, but what’s special about it? Mufasa This required something new as it is a completely different style of filmmaking?

BARRY JENKINS: One thing that remains the same is that it’s about characters. I love conversations, whether verbal or non-verbal, because Some conversations don’t require wordsand you can see from the movement of the camera, from the relationship of the characters, what the conversation feels like, what emotions there are. The audience can guess what is happening. To MufasaIt was about leveraging these virtual production tools and finding a way to do the same. Part of it was building as much of the environment as possible, the sky, all these different things, and then making it happen on stage with the cameraman, the animators, and just, I don’t know, inventing this petri dish the movement.

Do you think there’s some sort of reverse effect where producing something in this style has helped you explore a different area of ​​directing that you didn’t even know existed and that you’re now bringing to your live -Be able to transfer action work?

JENKINS: Yeah, I definitely think so. We start the film with all voices, so it was really interesting to direct the actors’ purely vocal performance. And then it was really interesting to focus the blocking on purely physical performance. Your mind goes into this other mode. But I also think beyond that, using these tools to create an environment, create a lighting plan, set all of these things in motion and Then Come in with actors with the camera. You can do this both in this virtual production and in live action. Matt Reeves used it The BatmanGreig Fraser used it Dune 2and we will continue to use it Moonlight Part 3 (laughs) whatever we do in the future, because it really gives you a head start on understanding how the characters will interact with the environment.

Lin-Manuel Miranda decided not to listen to The Lion King for Mufasa

“Lion King is so much a part of our bloodstream.

Lin, of all the new songs in this film, this was the one that came to your mind the quickest, it was like the song came into being like magic, but then I also want to know which song in the film took the most work to perfect ?

LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA: Oh, that’s a great question. Honestly, the answer to your first question is the last song because I wrote pretty much one at a time. I started with “I Always Wanted a Brother” and worked my way through. And what an incredible privilege to be able to write about this moment of Taka’s emotional turn without giving away any spoilers – it’s quite a heightened emotion that came to the fore – because we had done the groundwork and Barry and his team had laid the foundation to bring about this moment.

I think the one that required the most care and had the most iteration levels was probably Milele. It’s difficult to describe paradise (laughs), so I actually listened to a lot of spirituals. I listened to a lot of church music to figure out what kind of mood I was going for, and then I also left a lot of space in the melody because I knew I wanted Lebo M to come in and bring his incredible choral harmonies and African ones Harmonies to take it to the next level.

Since you’ve just started listening to other music for inspiration, is there a particular original song? The Lion King What weighed on you the most while writing these new songs?

MIRANDA: No. I have that feeling again Lion King is so much a part of our bloodstream. Not just the 1994 original, but also the musical, thanks to the genius of Julie Taymor and Lebo M and Mark Mancina. It’s one of the longest-running Broadway musicals of all time, so I didn’t need a refresher course Lion King. I’ve heard it so many times over the years, so no, not really. What was great was that I felt that way Jeff’s (Nathanson) script was so clear about the moments that it was all about fulfilling them.

Barry, I’m just obsessed with Aaron (Pierre) and Kelvin (Harrison Jr.). I think they are two of the greatest actors and I think everyone should know how special they are. Do you remember the very first thing you saw in each of them that signaled to you, “Not only would you two be perfect for the roles of Mufasa and Taka, but you will also be a good partner for me?”

JENKINS: The first time I saw Aaron on stage was in London at the Royal Shakespeare performance Othelloand I just knew there was something about him. He had this energy. It’s a kind of theater where you have to project not only vocally but also physically, so you really have to throw your image around the room, and I felt like he just did that, and yet he still has the nuances of the performance that he gave is preserved. And his voice is just great. We’re not trying to imitate the voice of James Earl Jones, but you have to believe that his voice could become the voice of James Earl Jones.

When you watch the 1994 film with Kelvin, the way Jeremy Irons plays the character is just so special. There is pain, there is wounding, there is bitterness. Despite all the anger and the nastiness, you can tell that there are deep feelings there, and Kelvin just really embraced that, like the deliciousness, the fun, the menace that’s in it. I just thought, “Oh, these guys as a couple are going to work really well together.”

Barry Jenkins and Lin-Manuel Miranda on the importance of finding family

“I can deep relate to the found family themes in this film.

I have a personal question for both of you, inspired by what happens in the film. In general, I love found family stories, and I also know that found families can be absolutely vital in this industry. Early in your career, can you name someone who filled this role in your life, someone you met who made you feel like you belonged here and could be successful in this industry?

JENKINS: I still work with all my friends from film school – James Laxton, Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Joi McMillon, our cinematographer, editor, producer. I still work with all of these people. And honestly, Moonlight Without Adele Romanski this wouldn’t have happened calls me and says, “I want to work with people I love on things they care about.” And that’s it. “Let’s find the film that can do that.” Well, I can deep relate to the found family themes in this film. I think that’s the only reason I’m sitting here talking to you right now.

MIRANDA: Yes, and all the things you describe that come full circle touch me so much. Tommy Kail was someone I met a week after I graduated college. He was someone who, when I was working on my first show, In the heightsNot only did he encourage me to keep writing and was the only person to give me a deadline back when I was teaching at my old high school, but he was also great at saying no when the wrong opportunity presented itself , which is so hard when you’re young and just want anyone to see your show. He said, “No, I think we should just keep working on it and make it better.” And all these years later, I was in Hawaii where he was directing the live-action adaptation Moana. The entirety of it is simply breathtaking.

Mufasa: The Lion King hits theaters on December 20th.

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