Later this month, Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. will appear opposite one another as two sides of the same coin in Mufasa: The Lion King. The film will serve as an origin story for not just the titular character, but also for his brother, Taka, who eventually becomes known as Scar. The famous fictional siblings were first introduced in Disney’s 1994 animated feature, The Lion King, making the dynamic between the pair an interesting one for the studio to untangle in its upcoming feature. This won’t at all be the first time that the two actors have tackled such an interesting connection between characters, as they previously starred alongside one another in the fourth season of National Geographic’s anthology series, Genius. Each season dove into the story of notable names that changed history, like Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, and Aretha Franklin, with Pierre and Harrison’s installment doing a deep dive into the lives of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Both men were well respected and revered leaders of the Civil Rights movement, with the series pouring over the particulars of what set them apart and what brought them together.
With Season 4 of Genius already in the rearview mirror, and Mufasa: The Lion King roaring into cinemas in just a little over one week, audiences may be wondering where the pair will go from here. Picking up the question and running with it, the duo, along with their Mufasa castmate, Tiffany Boone, manifested some possibilities with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff. After two drama-heavy collabs, Harrison said that his pick would lean more into the comedic side of things, revealing:
“You know what? I really want to do a remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels , and I would love to play Steve Martin , and I feel like you’d (Pierre) be a good Michael Caine […] That’s not an iconic duo, but it’s an iconic duo.”
Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. Are Ready to Defy Gravity
Pointing to a response she heard from an earlier interview, Nemiroff told the pair that she was fully expecting them to say that their dream on-screen partnership would be as the leading witches in Wicked. Obviously, this is literally everyone’s dream, with all three parties quickly chiming in with their hopes about how the casting would shake out. Taking it upon herself to dole out the parts currently played on the big screen by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, Boone said, “Oh! I think you’re the Glinda, [Kelvin], and you’re the Elphaba, [Aaron].” Showing his distaste in the casting process, Harrison snapped back at his co-star, with an off-tune vocal run, immediately lobbying to be recast as the green witch, “See, I sing it so nice? [Sings off-key] You don’t think I’m Elphaba?” Realizing that she had stirred the pot a little bit too hard, Boone took full responsibility for the part she played, admitting, “I’m in trouble.”
While we may not hear them belt out favorites like “What Is this Feeling?” and “Defying Gravity,” both Pierre and Harrison Jr. will raise their voices to a score penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda when Mufasa: The Lion King roars onto screens on December 20. You can watch the rest of Nemiroff's interview with the cast below.
Simba, having become king of the Pride Lands, is determined for his cub to follow in his paw prints while the origins of his late father Mufasa are explored.
Release Date December 20, 2024
Director Barry Jenkins
Writers Jeff Nathanson
Franchise Disney
Sequel The Lion King (2019)
Cinematographer James Laxton
Producer Mark Ceryak, Adele Romanski
Production Company Fairview Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures
Distributor(s) Disney
English (US) ·