Mufasa: The Lion King
Mufasa : The Lion Kingtakes viewer back in time , before the event of the 2019 remake , to research the source of some of the franchise ’s most iconic characters . Though it mostly explore the backstory of the titular Mufasa and Scar - who goes by Taka in his former days - the picture show alsodelves into character like Timon and Pumbaa , the iconic meerkat and warthog duo . The moving picture welcomes in unexampled cast of characters members likeOld ’s Aaron Pierre andElvis ' Kelvin Harrison Jr. as immature Mufasa and Taka alongside give back role player like comedians Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner .
Rogen and Eichner ’s comedic relief was a highlighting of the first picture , which for the most part leaned into the story ’s darker , dramatic aspect . The same stay on true in the sequel , with younger versions of Timon and Pumbaa still providing lightheartedness amid more melancholy secret plan threads . Eichner is known for a myriad of comedic projects , like the showsBilly on the Street- which was hosted by the comic -Difficult People , andParks and Recreation , as well as his recent filmBros .
Disney has work the Lion King enfranchisement back with a prequel . Here ’s where to take in Mufasa : The Lion King in theaters , on streaming , and on digital .
Screen Rantinterviewed Billy Eichner to talk over improvising with Seth Rogen , where Timon and Pumbaa primed intoMufasa and Scar ’s backstory , and the film ’s most important themes .
Mufasa’s Director Had Eichner & Seth Rogen “Lean Into Improvising”
Working With Barry Jenkins & Where Pumbaa & Timon Find Themselves In The New Film
Screen Rant : How does it feel to render to Pride Rock as Timon alongside Seth Rogan as Pumbaa ?
Billy Eichner : It ’s a joyfulness and an honor . I am very grateful to be a part of it . It ’s so fun . Me and Seth body of work as a team , as Timon and Pumbaa , because they are a team . They ’re best friends and they ’re really a comedy duo . They really compliment each other . That ’s the fun part of it ; there ’s a lot of fun part of it , but for me as an thespian , that ’s the fun part of it .
Now countenance ’s set the stage . Where are Pumbaa and Timon before Simba ’s realm ? What have they been up to in the meantime ? Where do we rule them ?
Billy Eichner : We rule ‘em rove around like they always do as the outsiders kind of slip in themselves into the situation . I really like their role in Mufasa because they are just more despairing than ever to be part of the story because they ’re not - they ’re help tell the account .
They ’re kind of functioning as narrator with Rafiki telling Kiara the tale of her grandfather Mufasa , who she obviously did n’t know because - spoiler alarum - he break in the first movie . So they ’re test to get in there and center themselves , and they ’re not going to be able-bodied to do that , and that ’s a really fun secret plan to play .
I guess Barry Jenkins did such a fantastic job with this film .
Billy Eichner : I do too .
I jazz that all the animals are photorealistic , but emote . Talk to me about work with him and add these grapheme to life .
Billy Eichner : What an laurels to work with Barry Jenkins . I mean , I love his employment . His late body of work is very different than Mufasa , obviously , but I have to say when I pick up Mufasa , you may feel Barry ’s touch , because he allowed it to be for the musical style more complex than these movies usually are .
I think Mufasa and Taka Scar are complex character , and I think that ’s very Barry Jenkins , and it was an honor to get to work with him . He ’s such a lovely supporting guy wire . He really had Seth and I run into improvising a lot and advert - libbing - a peck of it ’s in the movie , which is kind of cool .
Oh , that ’s interesting . Like the strain , " Hakuna Mufasa . "
Billy Eichner : That was improvised during a recording sitting .
Pumbaa & Timon’s Bond Ties Into A “Core Of The Movie”
Recording With Rogen & The Universal Themes Of Family In Mufasa: The Lion King
unbelievable . Now , can you peach about the themes of fellowship fate and resiliency ? I palpate likenobody better than Pumbaa and Timonwould be able to read those themes .
Billy Eichner : Yeah , I intend , that ’s at the effect of the movie . That ’s what ’s fun about playing Timon with Seth and Pumbaa is because we get to be the comical relievo in a picture that ’s pretty vivid and pretty serious in dealing with real themes about father and their nipper and family unit and their children , and that ’s complicated , ample , poignant stuff that we can all relate to .
I ’ve told this story before , but when I follow the pic in a screening way , I watched it alone . I had n’t image it yet on the Disney lot , and behind me , the only other mortal in the theater was the security guard they made me watch the movie with so I do n’t record it , as if I ’m going to give Mufasa away on my IG [ Laughs ] . The surety guard , just this older , kind of stoical guy cable , stands up at the remnant and looks at me and said , " That movie made me need to call my dad tonight . ”
And this was an older humanity , and I was like , " Your dad ’s alive ? " No , I ’m just kidding . But it was very cherubic , it was very moving . And I think that speak to how worked up the movie is and those report , how relatable they are .
youngster that watchLion Kingright after , it ’s go to rip their hearts right out .
Billy Eichner : Good .
Now speak to me about working with Seth . Did you guy cable record in a studio apartment together ?
Billy Eichner : We record everything together really for these movies . I do n’t recognize how we would do it otherwise , because we ’re bouncing off of each other . We ’re improvising a mickle , and Timon and Pumbaa are a drollery duo .
fan ofLion Guardhave been expect to see Kiara for a while now , babble out to me about what we can expect from Kiara .
Billy Eichner : Kiara ’s a angelical , young character voiced by Blue Ivy Carter . It ’s really unfermented , because she does n’t know Mufasa , plain ; her grandfather died in the first picture show . So we get to tell her the storey , and she ’s watch about how he became the king , as it were - whatever we ’re calling him now , the loss leader , the paterfamilias . It ’s cool to be able to help tell that tale , because he did n’t start off that way .
Pumbaa and Timon are like goober pea butter and jelly , and if their friendship has lasted the mental test of time for over 30 years , what defecate their friendly relationship so substantial and last the mental test of clip ?
Billy Eichner : I think it ’s so clear that they ’re always the foreigner , always trying to shoehorn their path into the center of the tale , but they ’re never the center of the taradiddle . And they ’re such opposites in certain way . They ’re just kind of classical , unbelievable best friends , and an unlikely duo . And I desire you could feel that they also really love each other and that they are best booster , even though they make fun of each other a muckle .
More About Mufasa: The Lion King (2024)
Mufasa : The Lion Kingexplores the unlikely rise of the darling top executive of the Pride Lands . Rafiki relay the legend of Mufasa to new lion cub Kiara , girl of Simba and Nala , with Timon and Pumbaa impart their signature schtik . Told in flashbacks , the story innovate Mufasa as an orphaned cub , lost and alone until he meet a sympathetic lion named Taka — the heir to a regal bloodline . The fortune meeting jell in apparent movement an heroic journey of an over-the-top radical of misfits searching for their destiny — their bond will be prove as they act upon together to evade a forbidding and mortal foe .
Check out our otherMufasa : The Lion Kinginterviews here :
Mufasa : The Lion Kingarrives in theaters on December 20 .
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