‘Mufasa: The Lion King’: Beyoncé’s Daughter to Make Her Voice Acting Debut!!

One of the surprises that came along with the very first trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King was the reveal that Blue Ivy Carter is making her voice acting debut in the blockbuster. In the story, she’ll play none other than… Beyoncé‘s daughter. She’ll voice the heir of Simba (Donald Glover) and Nala (Beyoncé Knowles-Carter), and during an interview to Empire the movie’s director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) revealed why the decision to cast Blue Ivy Carter as Kiara was a “no-brainer.”

Jenkins commented that Blue Ivy‘s vocal talent first came to his attention when he listened to the audiobook version of best-selling children’s book Hair Love. Jenkins called the girl’s work “absolutely amazing,” and that ultimately made him think that having mother and daughter play the same roles onscreen would help convey this type of connection that sometimes is hard to get across the screen. The Oscar winner doesn’t seem to regret his decision:

“Watching [Beyoncé] coexist with her daughter, and just how lovely and gentle and encouraging she is was really special. I think it bled into the performances they gave as well. I think this will be this really beautiful time capsule for the two of them, at this moment when they get to share this part of their relationship as these characters.”

Is ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ A Prequel or a Sequel?

Mufasa: The Lion King is both a prequel and a sequel to 2019’s The Lion King. Jenkins didn’t reveal details of how exactly this will play out, but chances are that the story strikes up connections between past and present in order to illustrate the journeys and legacies of Simba and his father. If done right, Mufasa: The Lion King has the potential of becoming a far superior sequel than the previous direct-to-video animated movie. Not that we should expect anything else: The 2019 CGI-animated remake raked in over $1.6 billion dollars at the box office, and it’s safe to say that Disney expects a similar performance from the sequel/prequel.

Aside from Beyoncé and Blue Ivy, the cast of Mufasa: The Lion King also features returning voice actors Seth Rogen (Knocked Up) as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner (Bros) as Timon and John Kani (Black Panther) as Rafiki. Aaron Pierre (Krypton) takes over as Mufasa, the role that became famous through the thundering voice of James Earl Jones and additional voice cast members include Thandiwe Newton (Westworld), Mads Mikkelsen (Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Genius).