'The Lion King 2' director Barry Jenkins reveals why he has decided to direct the sequel

After the super success of 2019’s live adaptation of The Lion King, the prequel for the movie was announced at the start of 2020. As the first part of the movie was one of Disney’s most successful live-action remakes, reportedly grossing over $1.5 billion at the box office worldwide, the expectations from The Lion King 2 has been set very high. The director of The Lion King 2, Barry Jenkins has revealed that he decided to work on the project because it had a “very good script”. Read further ahead to know more about why Barry Jenkins decided to direct The Lion King 2.

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Barry Jenkins on why he decided to direct The Lion King 2

Barry Jenkins is one of the most critically acclaimed directors in the Hollywood movie industry. The moviemaker rose to fame after helming two very successful movies, Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk. Even though Barry Jenkins directing The Lion King 2 might come as a surprise to many, the director has recently revealed that he was very impressed with The Lion King 2 script and couldn’t pass the movie up.

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According to reports from Variety, Barry Jenkins has said that while he was reading the script of the movie, he turned towards his partner (Lulu Wang) in order to show his excitement. As the director went on reading the script, he decided to push against the very common notion believed by the people that moviemakers like Barry Jenkins will not make a movie like The Lion King 2. Barry Jenkins went to the Disney office with one caveat as he had to have some semblance of its creative control.

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According to reports from Ideas Fandom, The Lion King 2 cast has Donald Glover playing the lead character of Simba. The movie also casts Beyonce, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen, John Kani, and John Oliver as the lead characters. The Lion King 2 plot is expected to follow the events that took place in the 2019 movie, while also exploring Mufasa’s early years simultaneously. Fans are eagerly waiting for the release of The Lion King 2 as it is an emotional story being directed by the moviemaker who knows exactly how to pull those heartstrings.  

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