Mufasa: The Lion King – Meet the Voice Actors 

Mufasa: The Lion King is an upcoming photorealistic animated film, directed by Barry Jenkins, and is set to be released in UK cinemas this December. The movie serves as both a prequel and a sequel, to the  2019 remake of the 1994 film The Lion King. 

The film delves into the life of Simba’s father, Mufasa, and how he gained the throne of the Pride Lands;  

“It’s a story about how Mufasa rose to royalty,” Barry Jenkins told D23 Expo. “We assume he was just born into his lineage, but in telling this story, we get to experience the real journey of how Mufasa found his place in the circle of life.”   

The cast of Mufasa: The Lion King  looks fantastic and is made up of both names we’ve heard of, and a healthy dose of fresh new talent. We’ve had a look at the voices behind the characters, and some notable works that you’ll be sure to recognise them from.   

‘Mufasa’ – Aaron Pierre: 

The main character, Mufasa, is voiced by actor Aaron Pierre. Mufasa is an orphaned lion, and the film follows his story on how he became King of his pride. This is Pierre’s first voice over role; however, he is no stranger to the acting world. 

Pierre has worked with Mufasa: The Lion King’s director before, on Barry Jenkins’ award-winning, The Underground Railroad, in which he played Caeser. He was also part of the cast of Old, in which he played a rapper – this role involved him writing and performing his own song! Before on-screen work, Pierre was involved in a fair few on-stage productions, such as Othello at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre. 

“I have a real sort of personal connection to The Lion King, partly because it came out the year I was born. So, I’ve always sort of rocked with that fact. It was definitely my most watched of any Disney film… I say this all the time, and I will continue to say it in every interview because it’s the truth: James Earl Jones is one of my greatest inspirations. And to have the opportunity to, in a small way, add to the legacy of a character that James Earl Jones created is just a dream come true.” 

• Aaron Pierre, in conversation with The New York Times. 

‘Taka’ – Kelvin Harrison Jr: 

Taka is a new character within the franchise and is the younger brother of Mufasa. However, after facing many trials and tribulations within the Pride, it is revealed within this film that his identity is not as new as it may seem. 

Kelvin Harrison Jr has joined the cast and has provided his voice for the role of Taka. Kelvin has been part of the acting scene for over 10 years now, after having secured his first role as an extra in 12 Years A Slave, back in 2013.  

Since then, he has starred in many Hollywood blockbusters, including; The Photograph, The High Note, Cyrano and Elvis. This will be his first voice-acting role, so we’re very much looking forward to hearing his work! 

‘Nala’ – Beyoncé Knowles-Carter: 

Nala serves as the Queen Consort of the Pride Lands, after marrying Mufasa’s son, Simba. Nala will be voiced by international superstar, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.  

Having risen to fame through her music, Beyoncé has also dipped her toe in the filmmaking world and will be reprising her role from the first The Lion King live-action remake. 

Beyoncé has previously starred in Austin Powers: Goldmember, The Pink Panther and Dreamgirls – to name a few from her vast filmography! However, she is also no stranger to previous voice over work; having provided her voice for both ‘Queen Tara’ in Epic, and ‘Shine’ in Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!. 

‘Simba’ – Donald Glover: 

Simba, Mufasa’s son, will be voiced by Donald Glover. Glover starred alongside Beyoncé in the previous The Lion King live-action remake, so will also be reprising his role. 

Donald Glover also goes by his stage name ‘Childish Gambino’ and is quite literally a triple threat. Having conquered the music industry, with 4 studio albums to his name, Glover has also been a part of the comedy circuit, and acting world. 

Previously, Glover has starred as an actor in Guava Island, Magic Mike XXL, and The Martian. However, his voice acting career is much broader, having lent his voice to characters in Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse, Adventure Time, Solo: A Star Wars Story and Regular Show. 

‘Pumbaa’ – Seth Rogen: 

Pumbaa is a male warthog (with a pretty bad flatulence problem!) who takes on the adoptive Uncle role in Simba’s life. Pumbaa is a well-beloved character in The Lion King, and Seth Rogen’s version of the character is no exception. 

Rogen voiced Pumbaa previously in the first live-action remake of The Lion King and is back once again to provide the comedy factor. Having been an established name within the film industry for quite some time, it is no surprise that he has had quite an eclectic mix of previous voice over work. 

Acting aside (his filmography is very long!), Rogen has recorded his voice for some brilliant characters throughout his career, such as; ‘Frank’ in Sausage Party ‘Mantis’ in Kung Fu Panda 4, ‘Donkey Kong’ in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and ‘Bebop’ in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. 

‘Timon’ – Billy Eichner: 

Timon is the wise-cracking sidekick of Pumbaa; he’s a meerkat, with big opinions. Alongside Pumbaa, Timon helps raise Simba, as an adoptive Uncle figure in his life. 

Within the live-action remakes, Billy Eichner has been the voice behind the character. Eichner is an American actor and comedian, who has established a name for himself within American pop culture on the comedy circuit. 

When speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Eichner commented on what it means to him to be taking on such an iconic role within the Disney Universe; 

“Timon is such a great role that allows you to do so much. But… the bigger the project and the bigger the names that you’re working with, the more you have to ignore it. If you get to the soundstage and you’re thinking, ‘Oh my God, what a full-circle moment! Nathan Lane did it originally! Beyoncé’s in this!’ then you’re paralyzed creatively. You just have to put that out of your head in order to get the job done.” 

• Billy Eichner, in conversation with Entertainment Weekly. 

Previously, Eichner has dabbled within the voice over world, having recorded his voice for characters such as; ‘Mr. Ambrose’ in Bob’s Burgers, ‘Philip’ in The Angry Birds Movie, and ‘Captain Bigman’ in Green Eggs and Ham. 

‘Kiara’ – Blue Ivy Carter: 

Kiara is the cub of Simba and Nala and will be making an appearance in Mufasa: The Lion King. Blue Ivy Carter, the daughter of Beyoncé and Jay-Z, has provided her voice for this character – which is incredibly apt considering who her mother is playing in the film! 

At only 12 years old; Blue Ivy is making her acting debut in this film and has been described by her castmates as a natural ‘thespian’, we can’t wait to hear her voice acting debut alongside this star-studded cast. 

Are you in need of a voice over for your animated content? We’re here to help. 

At Matinée Multilingual, we have a vast database of talented voice artists who specialise in everything from explainer videos to interactive toys. Whichever language you require a voice over in (we offer over 80!), and whatever your next project is, let us help you bring it to life with our expert voice over services.  

We’ll help you connect and engage with your audience with the perfect voice, all the way from offering a selection of hand-picked voice demos, to recording and editing the final audio file.  

Why not get in touch with us today and find out more about how we can help you?  

Email us via project@matinee.co.uk, and we’ll get back to you within the hour.