The Lion King prequel Mufasa gets a hair-raising first trailer that's all about destiny

The first trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King is here, and it's seriously epic.

In the clip, which you can watch above, we're introduced to a young Mufasa – who doesn't come from royalty himself. Rafiki narrates as we see Mufasa dodging crocodiles, running through what looks to be a stampede (uh oh), and looking to the stars. We also catch a glimpse of what appears to be our favorite duo, Timon and Pumbaa. Of course, it's all set to that iconic tune, 'Circle of Life.'

It looks like it's drawing a lot of inspiration from the original movie, so perhaps father and son's stories are more parallel than we ever knew. 

The film is a prequel to The Lion King, made in the same highly realistic style as the 2019 remake directed by Jon Favreau. Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk helmer Barry Jenkins is in the director's chair for the Mufasa movie. 

"I really knew this character, I loved him but then, as I was reading this wonderful script, I starting really thinking about Mufasa and why he's great, and how people become great," Jenkins said back in 2022. "It's crazy. I am not a king, I am not a king, but when I make my movies... I was onstage at the Oscars with Moonlight and five of my best friends from college was also there, and what you'll learn in this story is that Mufasa is great because of the family and friends he has with him." 

By the sounds of things, if the Mufasa movie proves successful, we could be seeing more films in the same vein, too. "The Lion King could expand into a big, epic saga, like the Star Wars franchise," Walt Disney Pictures president Sean Bailey has said. "There's a lot of room to run if we can find the stories."

Mufasa: The Lion King arrives this December 20, 2024. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the upcoming Disney movies for everything else the studio has in store.