SAN DIEGO (AP) — When Aaron Pierre was cast as Mufasa, the weight of following in the late James Earl Jones’ legendary footsteps was enough to rattle any actor. But instead of letting the pressure roar too loudly, he harnessed his nerves to breathe fresh life into his young lion character.
“I had a lot of nerves and I actually think those nerves served me because that is what the adolescent version of that lion is,” Pierre said in an interview Friday at the San Diego Safari Park about his leading role in “Mufasa: The Lion King.” He took the reins as the new voice of Mufasa after Jones played the iconic King Mufasa in both the 1994 and 2019 versions of Disney’s “The Lion King.”
Here are some details and insights about “Mufasa” ahead of its release in theaters on Dec. 20.
First, a tribute to James Earl Jones
Jones’ voice isn’t heard in the movie, but it opens with a brief tribute to the beloved actor, who died in September.