( 📸: Getty Images )
Cousins, the legendary Blue Ivy Carter is taking her talents to the big screen this winter following news that she’s been named an official cast member of the latest installment of Disney’s beloved animated film ‘The Lion King’
According to a press release and first-look trailer from Disney, Blue will be joining her mom Beyoncé in the upcoming movie Mufasa.
The 12-year-old Grammy award-winner will voice the character of Kiara; while Beyoncé and Donald Glover will voice their respected characters of King Simba and Queen Nala from the 2019 redeveloped version of The Lion King.
According to Entertainment Weekly, Mufasa: The Lion King will be told through the lens of extended flashbacks, framed around a story narrated by (John Kani), Timon (Billy Eichner), and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) to a young lion cub regarding one of the ‘Pride Lands’ greatest legends.
“A buddy of mine, Matthew Cherry, made the short film called Hair Love that Blue Ivy did the audio book of. Starting this project and just having that in the ether, I was like, ‘Is it worth a shot? Would Blue Ivy want to do it? Would Beyoncé want to act opposite her daughter? Is it too close to home?'” said Mufasa director Barry Jenkin to EW.
“But once we put the question to them, they both responded with enthusiasm.
In true Beyonce fashion, the songstress hinted to fans through indirect symbolism within her iconic 2023 Renaissance World Tour what the mother-daughter duo had up their sleeves.
As we previously reported Blue made a special appearance as a part of the Renaissance tour as a featured dancer alongside her mama.
Each night she would hit the stage to the song “My Power,” which was initially introduced on Bey’s The Lion King-inspired visual album The Gift back in 2019.
“They are a lot smarter than me, and they have a lot more going on than me, so if they were signaling to people, all good, but it was not my intention. I just thought she would do a wonderful job,” says the filmmaker says. He is said to have admitted that the Renaissance tour did in fact happen after they had already worked on Mufasa together.
“What’s crazy is we made the film, and then the Renaissance tour happened, and I think Blue really grew up over the course of that tour,” Barry recalls. “So the Blue Ivy you see in this film, it’s like a time capsule, this very, very, very young stage of her life, and she got to share it with her mom. So, I thought there was some synergy. It could be beautiful.”
Reports read that the confirmed cast members will be “Aaron Pierre as Mufasa; Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka (a.k.a. young Scar); Tiffany Boone as Mufasa’s future queen, Sarabi; Kagiso Lediga as young Rafiki; Preston Nyman as Zazu; Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros; Thandiwe Newton as Taka’s mother, Eshe; Lennie James as Taka’s father, Obasi; and Disney’s The Princess and the Frog actors Anika Noni Rose and Keith David as Mufasa’s parents, Afia and Masego.
Mufasa: The Lion King is set to hit theaters December 20th, 2023. You can check out the official trailer below. Cousins, let us know in the comments your thoughts.
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