Watch: Mufasa: The Lion King director Barry Jenkins discusses casting Blue Ivy Carter
Blue Ivy Carter makes her acting debut in Mufasa: The Lion King by voicing Kiara, the daughter of Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala who is voiced by her real-life mother Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, but while some might cry nepotism director Barry Jenkins tells Yahoo UK that she “earned” the role.
In the Lion King prequel the story of Mufasa’s early life as a cub and young lion are told as a story to Kiara, who is left with Rafiki (John Kani), Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) when Simba has to be with a pregnant Nala. Kiara feels she can’t live up to the legacy of her father and grandfather, so Rafiki decides to remedy that by telling her a story of Mufasa that she can relate to.
Jenkins felt Carter was perfect for the role, telling Yahoo UK: “It was really great to work with her, she took the job very seriously, she earned the part. I think when you see the film, she does a great job so it makes sense that she earned the part.
“I think when children are watching this movie you always want to see ‘OK, where am I? Who am I most like in this film?’ I think Kiara literally embodies children watching The Lion King. She is being told this story by Rafiki, and the reason she’s being told the story is because she literally says ‘but I’m not brave like my dad, and I could never be like Mufasa’.
“And I love that Rafiki takes this idea of Mufasa on the totem pole and he sort of humanises him by showing he was a child, he had insecurities, he had self doubt. And he overcame those things not by becoming this arrogant, pompous version of himself but by listening to the teachings of the people around him and building a found family.”
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Eichner, who shares scenes with Carter but didn’t record alongside her, adds that he was impressed with her work as well: “I think she’s wonderful in the movie, we didn’t get to record with her —Seth and I record together, but the other actors are separate— but we met her the other night at the premiere in LA and she’s wonderful.”
With Kiara firmly in place in Disney‘s live-action remake franchise it seems fitting that the company would continue the story with a new version of the 1998 animated movie The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride. The original sequel sees Kiara take centre stage and follows her friendship with Kovu, a lion whose pride was banished for their loyalty to Scar.
Eichner is ready for the remake to happen, as he says: “Hey, remake them all, whatever the people want. What I really think we need is a Timon and Pumbaa movie, that’s what the people really want, let’s get serious okay?
“Seth and I have been campaigning for that actively, and we need the people to make noise about that, take to the streets and give the people what they want.”
Timon and Pumbaa have, of course, had their own spin-offs in animated form but remain supporting players in the live-action remakes. Eichner already has an idea for how that can change: “It could be a prequel, like to see how they met because they are the such an unlikely duo, and they’re best friends.
“I think a sort of road trip adventure would be really fun. I think it would just be like a big, loud, colourful comedy. The Lion King movies are very emotional and intense, I think it’s a Timon and Pumbaa movie would be more lighthearted and fun, and fast.”
Mufasa: The Lion King will be released in cinemas on Friday, 20 December.
