‘Mufasa: The Lion King’: Everything You Need to Know About the Star-Studded Black Cast

This isn’t the towering figure we’ve known for 30 years, this is Mufasa when he’s still figuring out who he is. Though, we still see glimpses of his future greatness.

Jeremy Irons and Chiwetel Ejiofor left some very big shoes to fill, but Kelvin Harrison Jr. isn’t playing Scar, he’s Taka. This is the young lion before he becomes engulfed by bitterness and hate. It will be interesting to see the beginnings of that transition.

John Kani’s Rafiki is the foundation of the prequel, as he’s the one who tells the flashback story to Simba and Nala’s daughter Kiara. Rafiki always provides fascinating insight into the proceedings.

The Emmy nominee returns as Mufasa’s son Simba, though it’s unclear how much time we’ll actually spend with him this time around.

Simba’s mate Nala also returns, and this time around we get to see her as a mother nurturing her family.

If you need someone to voice Nala’s daughter, who better than Beyoncé’s actual daughter? Blue Ivy Carter couldn’t ask for a bigger project to make her feature film debut in.

The British actor portrays Taka’s father, who seems extremely critical and strict in the clips we’ve seen. Daddy issues would certainly explain a lot about Taka’s transition into Scar and his resentment of Mufasa.

Early clips portray Eshe as a much more caring parent than Obasi. We wonder what she thinks of her son becoming the evil Scar?

All the marketing for the film has told us that Mufasa is an orphan, so we don’t know much about his parents. However, we do know we get to hear her spectacular singing voice.

Keith David is such a fascinating choice for Mufasa’s father. We’re interested to see if there are glimpses of the Mufasa we know in his father.

Tiffany Boone voices Sarabi. As she joins Mufasa and Taka on their journey, we finally get to know her as more than just Simba’s mother and Mufasa’s mate.

Obviously, they’re not Black, but we can’t talk about “The Lion King” without mentioning Timon and Pumbaa. They help Rafiki tell the story, putting their own unique spin on certain moments.

No matter what the story is, or where it takes place, if you need an unforgettable bad guy for your movie Mads Mikkelsen should always be the first choice.