The Lion King Director Reacts to Fans Saying He’s ‘Too Talented’ for ‘Soulless’ Disney

Summary

• Barry Jenkins passionately defends his involvement in Disney’s
  Mufasa
  movie, emphasizing its powerful impact on audiences worldwide.
• Jenkins simultaneously worked on multiple projects, showcasing his dedication to storytelling beyond financial gain.
• Fans criticize the CGI in
  Mufasa’s
  trailer, but Jenkins continues to stand by his creative vision for the film’s release in 2024.

Director Barry Jenkins has taken to social media to defend his involvement in the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King movie – a prequel and sequel to 2019’s live-action styled Lion King remake. The project was first announced in 2020, with Jenkins attached to direct the film from the very beginning. However, after Jenkins shared the latest trailer online, he was met with surprisingly complimentary backlash, which he very promptly responded to.Barry Jenkins’ post on Twitter/X was met with comments questioning why the Oscar-winning director of Moonlight was overseeing a project for Disney.

One user said “Barry, You’re too good and talented for this Iger’s soulless machine.” To their amazement, Jenkins directly replied to their critique, eloquently stating, “There is nothing soulless about The Lion King.”

Another commenter, who claims to have interviewed Jenkins in 2016 following the premiere of Moonlight, took issue at the director’s response, suggesting his motives were purely financial.

Jenkins then created a thread of projects he was working on whilst also creating Moonlight, saying:

“Children have figured prominently in every single one of the projects from Moonlight til’ now without exception”

Disney’s Mufasa Movie Has Received Further Criticism

Mufasa: The Lion King

Release Date December 20, 2024

Format Theatrical

Studio Fairview Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures

This isn’t the first time Jenkins has defended his involvement with Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King prequel. Speaking to Empire, Jenkins addressed fans concerns that his creative vision and individual voice will be lost among Disney’s corporate motivations.

“When you step into a world that already exists, it can be easy to assume that freedom is denied. I think, instead, you have to just work to create freedom, and I think that was what this process was. A friend once said to me, ‘You’ve done the thing you set out to do when, 10 years on, you could put the film up on the wall and point to it and go, ‘There, that’s where I am.'”

In Jenkins’ thread on X, several users brought up Disney’s previous partnerships with Chloe Zhao and Nia DaCosta. Zhao had just won 2 Oscars for her work on the 2021 drama Nomadlandbefore directing The Eternals – which was a critical flop for Marvel Studios. Before Nia DaCosta helmed the studio’s most recent critical and commercial failure, The Marvels, she had written and directed the 2021 remake of Candyman, as well as several episodes of the acclaimed British series Top Boy.

Related How Disney’s Lion King Prequel Can Fix the Problems with the Live-Action Remake The 2019 remake of The Lion King received plenty of criticism for its lack of originality, though Barry Jenkins is shaking things up with the sequel.

The first trailer for Mufasa also received its share of criticism for its poor CGI. Just like Jon Favreau’s 2019 ‘live-action’ The Lion King, Mufasa utilizes CGI and 3-D animation to make its animated creatures look realistic. However, fans have not been impressed by the first look at Mufasa granted by the recent trailer.

Mufasa: The Lion King
hits theaters on December 20, 2024.

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