We can exclusively report the final runtime of Mufasa: The Lion King starring Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Tiffany Boone, and Preston Nyman.
What Is ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ About?
Mufasa: The Lion King is a prequel to Disney’s The Lion King, directed by Barry Jenkins, which dives into the origins of Mufasa, the revered king of Pride Rock. This story shifts focus from Simba and instead follows Mufasa’s journey, tracing his path from being an orphaned cub with humble beginnings to becoming a powerful leader. The film presents Mufasa’s story through flashbacks, with characters like Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa recounting his early life and the events that shaped his rise to leadership.
Alongside Mufasa’s development, the film explores his complex relationship with his brother, Taka—who eventually becomes the villainous Scar—highlighting the family dynamics and tensions that drive the plot. Aaron Pierre voices Mufasa, while Kelvin Harrison Jr. brings a new depth to Taka’s character. Themes of resilience, identity, and destiny are central, allowing audiences to gain a deeper understanding of Mufasa’s strength and compassion as a leader. Enhanced by powerful visuals and a soundtrack that connects to the spirit of the original film, Mufasa: The Lion King enriches the Pride Lands’ legacy with a fresh narrative that honours the iconic characters while unveiling new layers to their story.
How Long is ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’?
We can exclusively report that the final runtime of Mufasa: The Lion King is 1 hour and 58 minutes, which is exactly the same runtime as 2019’s The Lion King. It seems that Disney has found the perfect length for these movies as they keep it precisely under the two hour mark consistently which is more surprising for this movie than it is for the first one. Whilst the 2019 version was just a live action copy of the animated original, Mufasa is an original story and builds up the life of Mufasa and Scar, so it would be presumed that they need more time to do that but Jenkins has finalised his cut at just under two hours – we are very curious to see how this plays out.
This is Barry Jenkins’ biggest film yet and so it is unknown how this movie is going to turn out. It is the most unlike other films – it’s not very likely that we will be seeing aspects of his other movies such as If Beale Street Could Talk and Moonlight seeping into Mufasa as these are highly complicated and confronting movies, so Mufasa is a step back for Jenkins and an opportunity for him to venture into a more family market and make a fun movie for his first feature at Disney.
The origin of the king of Pride Rock arrives in cinemas worldwide on December 20th, hoping to win over the holiday season and successfully top the charts in that competitive Christmas window.
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