Walt Disney Pictures’ newest addition to The Lion King franchise, Mufasa: The Lion King, quickly became one of the highest grossing movies of 2024 despite only being released at the end of December. The Barry Jenkins directed movie serves as a prequel to the 2019 pH๏τorealistic remake of the 1994 movie and an origin story for the beloved character. Mufasa has been met with mixed reviews, though many have noted its superiority over its predecessor has helped bring the characters Mufasa and Scar to life in a new way.

Additionally, Mufasa: The Lion King benefits from a great voice cast whom audiences will be familiar with through their other work. Because the movie follows Mufasa’s childhood growing up with Taka (who becomes Scar), his growing relationship with Sarabi, and his ultimate takeover of the Pride Lands, Jenkins is able to infuse some of the heart of his usual filmmaking style. However, despite the movie’s success, the notable director has already expressed one concerning factor about the franchise’s continuation, if it does happen.

Barry Jenkins Already Confirmed He Won’t Make Another The Lion King Movie After Mufasa

The Animation Style Did Not Allow The Director His Usual Artistic Freedom

Even before Mufasa: The Lion King was released, director Barry Jenkins had already stated that he did not intend to make another one. In contrast to the filming style of his previous critically acclaimed movies, such as Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk, which relied on the emotions of real people acting in real locations, as an animated film Mufasa: The Lion King had no real people on set. While the movie and its animation style may be visually interesting, it is certainly not as emotionally compelling as seeing real actors on a screen, or, indeed, even the animation style of the 1994 classic.

Speaking with Vulture, Jenkins stated that the animated film was “not my thing” and that he believes real people in a real location should be enough to create a connection and speak to audiences. Jenkins highlighted how Mufasa‘s lack of physical sets was difficult for his creative process, but he did acknowledge that he had learned from the experience and could take some of the animation techniques with him to use in future work.

The Lion King Movies Have Never Had A Director Return For The Next Installment

Each Installment Has Had A Different Director

Strangely, Barry Jenkins’ statement regarding his reservations about directing another animated movie will actually continue an unusual Lion King trend that dates back to the original movie. No director for the franchise has ever come back to direct a second film. Though not all the directors have explicitly stated their reasons for not returning, directing animated films can be quite difficult and time-consuming, as Jenkins pointed out, so it is ultimately not too surprising that directors may not want to return to the experience a second time.

However, because the series has been so successful and there are numerous stories that could be told about The Lion King‘s characters, it does make sense that Disney would continue making the films. Though Jenkins’ comments leave the future direction of another Lion King movie uncertain, the popularity of Mufasa: The Lion King as well as its predecessors’ success indicates that audiences may not have seen the last of the beloved characters.

Source: Vulture