Barry Jenkins’ Mufasa: The Lion King teaser trailer is indistinguishable from The Lion King

The sameness extends to the characters and cast, including Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, and John Kani, who are all reprising their roles from the 2019 film. But Mufasa also features that movie’s Simba and Nala, Donald Glover, and Beyoncé. Apparently, the film is both a prequel and a sequel, alternating timelines with Mufasa’s story and Simba and Nala raising their daughter Kiara, played here by Beyoncé’s actual daughter Blue Ivy Carter. (Kiara was first introduced in the direct-to-video sequel The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride. “There’s some stuff from the canon that is very much referenced or alluded to, but it’s its own thing,” Jenkins promised of his movie in an interview with Empire Magazine.)

There are only a few instances in the teaser to distinguish Mufasa from the 2019 film, including visions of a lion’s pride in Africa’s snowy mountains. Otherwise, we pretty much have to wait and see for the new stuff, which includes original music from Hamilton’s Lin Manuel Miranda. Per Disney’s synopsis, the new story follows “Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.”

As far as new cast members go, Aaron Pierre voices the young Mufasa, Kelvin Harrison Jr. voices Taka, (“a lion prince with a bright future who accepts Mufasa into his family as a brother”, so, Scar), Tiffany Boone voices Sarabi, Kagiso Lediga voices Young Rafiki, Preston Nyman voices Zazu (taking over from John Oliver in the 2019 version), Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros (“a formidable lion with big plans for his pride”), Thandiwe Newton as Taka’s mother, Eshe, Lennie James as Taka’s father, Obasi, Anika Noni Rose as Mufasa’s mother, Afia, and Keith David as Mufasa’s father, Masego.