First trailer for live action Lion King prequel has just dropped

Thirty years after we saw Mufasa fall to his death in The Lion King, we're set to go back in time in a prequel to the epic story.

Check out the trailer for the new movie here:

Yep, it's true - it's been 30 years since Simba was forced to grow up without a dad; since he befriended Timon and Pumbaa and confronted the evil Scar in the original 1994 animated movie.

We got to relive the highs and lows in the live-action remake of the movie in 2019, but now it's time to return to the Pride Lands.

Disney's new movie will take us back before Simba was born, in a prequel titled Mufasa: The Lion King.

As the title suggests, the story will this time give viewers a greater insight to the life of Simba's dad in his younger years, while also touching further on his relationship with Scar.

The new movie looks at Mufasa's younger years. (Disney)

James Earl Jones, who took on the voice of Mufasa in both 1994 and 2019, has been replaced by Aaron Pierre for the prequel, while Scar - voiced by Jeremy Irons in 1994 and Chiwetel Ejiofor in 2019 - is being played by Kelvin Harrison Jr.

The new trailer offers us our first real look at the new Lion King movie after it first aired at CinemaCon earlier this month.

There, viewers got an early look at a young Mufasa as he explores the Pride Lands and interacts with the animals who live there, while a voiceover from Rafiki presents the young feline as 'a lion who was born without a drop of nobility in its blood… a lion who would change our lives forever… a lion who will shape our destiny.'

A release date has been confirmed. (Disney)

Mufasa's story is told by Rafiki as he relays it in the present day to the daughter of Simba and Nala, and in true Disney fashion, there will be a few new songs to go with the tale.

Director Barry Jenkins teased that Mufasa will feature new music when he introduced the trailer in Las Vegas, though he's keeping the details of the soundtrack underwraps.

“They are handcuffing me,” Jenkins told the crowd.

“I can’t tell you who made those new songs, but they are absolutely amazing.”

Mufasa is set to be released on December 20.

Topics: Disney, Film and TV, Viral

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.