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'Mufasa' Film Puts Classic Lions Into More Complex Storylines

This image released by Disney shows characters Afia, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, left, Mufasa, voiced by Braelyn Rankins, center, and Masego, voiced by Keith David, in a scene from "Mufasa: The Lion King." (Disney via AP)
This image released by Disney shows characters Afia, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, left, Mufasa, voiced by Braelyn Rankins, center, and Masego, voiced by Keith David, in a scene from "Mufasa: The Lion King." (Disney via AP)
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'Mufasa' Film Puts Classic Lions Into More Complex Storylines

This image released by Disney shows characters Afia, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, left, Mufasa, voiced by Braelyn Rankins, center, and Masego, voiced by Keith David, in a scene from "Mufasa: The Lion King." (Disney via AP)
This image released by Disney shows characters Afia, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, left, Mufasa, voiced by Braelyn Rankins, center, and Masego, voiced by Keith David, in a scene from "Mufasa: The Lion King." (Disney via AP)

Director Barry Jenkins believes it was important to revisit the Disney classic "The Lion King" with the prequel "Mufasa: The Lion King" for audiences to understand that the protagonist lion Mufasa was never perfect, and the villain Scar was not always evil.
"For 30 years we've been living with this idea of Mufasa as unimpeachably great and good, and Scar is like the full embodiment of evil," Jenkins told Reuters.
"In this story, we get to go back and show that no one is born good or born evil. You'll get a result of all these different choices that you make, good parenting, bad parenting, nature versus nurture," the "Moonlight" director added.
Jenkins found that it was key to the story to introduce a more complex look at the classic characters.
The film, written by Jeff Nathanson, uses photorealistic animation and serves as both a prequel to the original animated 1994 "The Lion King" and a sequel to the 2019 remake, which was directed by Jon Favreau.
"Mufasa", distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, arrives in theaters on Friday.
The movie includes the voices of leads Aaron Pierre as Mufasa, the lion who grows up to be the king and father to Simba along with Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka, who's eventually known as the antagonist named Scar, a prince and Mufasa's adoptive brother.
Taking place in the Pride Lands of Tanzania after the events of the 2019 "Lion King" film, "Mufasa" follows Mufasa and Taka, who become friends and eventually adoptive brothers until a series of devastating events threaten their bond.
The voice cast also includes multi-Grammy winner Beyonce Knowles-Carter who reprises her role from the 2019 film as Simba's mate, Nala, and the "Texas Hold 'Em" singer's daughter, Blue Ivy, making her film debut voicing Simba and Nala's daughter, Princess Kiara.
It was important for Pierre to pay homage to the late James Earl Jones, one of the most renowned actors in Hollywood and the original voice of Mufasa.
"He really for me is just top level," the "Genius" actor said.
For Pierre, Jones was his guiding light that extinguished any fear that he had about the iconic role.
"I actually managed to use that (his fear) in the adolescent version because the adolescent version doesn't have it all figured out," he added.

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Entertainment

Iceland to Boycott 2026 Eurovision in Protest of Go-Ahead for Israel

12 May 2024, Sweden, Malmo: Pro-Palestinian protesters hold flags during a demonstration opposing Israel's participation in the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest ESC in Malmo. (dpa)
12 May 2024, Sweden, Malmo: Pro-Palestinian protesters hold flags during a demonstration opposing Israel's participation in the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest ESC in Malmo. (dpa)
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Iceland to Boycott 2026 Eurovision in Protest of Go-Ahead for Israel

12 May 2024, Sweden, Malmo: Pro-Palestinian protesters hold flags during a demonstration opposing Israel's participation in the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest ESC in Malmo. (dpa)
12 May 2024, Sweden, Malmo: Pro-Palestinian protesters hold flags during a demonstration opposing Israel's participation in the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest ESC in Malmo. (dpa)

Iceland will not take part in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, the country's public broadcaster RUV said on Wednesday, after organizer the European Broadcasting Union last week cleared Israel's participation.

The decision to allow Israel to take part in the next Eurovision, which will be held in Vienna in May, earlier prompted Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, and Slovenia to withdraw in protest, citing Israel's conduct in the Gaza war.

"It is clear from the public debate in this country and the reaction to the EBU's decision last week that there will be neither joy nor peace regarding RUV's participation," the broadcaster's Director General Stefan Eiriksson said in a statement.

Iceland was among the countries that had requested a vote last week on Israel's participation. But the European Broadcasting Union, or EBU, decided not to call a vote on Israel's participation, saying it had instead passed new rules aimed at discouraging governments from influencing the contest.

Iceland has never won the song contest but came second in 1999 and 2009. The Eurovision Song Contest dates back to 1956 and reaches around 160 million viewers, according to the EBU.

Entertainment

Real-Life Horror to TV Drama: Feared Syria Sites Become Sets for Series 

Syrian director Mohamad Abdul Aziz poses for a photograph at his office in Damascus on November 24, 2025. (AFP)
Syrian director Mohamad Abdul Aziz poses for a photograph at his office in Damascus on November 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Real-Life Horror to TV Drama: Feared Syria Sites Become Sets for Series 

Syrian director Mohamad Abdul Aziz poses for a photograph at his office in Damascus on November 24, 2025. (AFP)
Syrian director Mohamad Abdul Aziz poses for a photograph at his office in Damascus on November 24, 2025. (AFP)

At a Damascus air base once off-limits under Bashar al-Assad, a crew now films a TV series about the final months of the ousted leader's rule as seen through the eyes of a Syrian family.

"It's hard to believe we're filming here," director Mohamad Abdul Aziz said from the Mazzeh base, which was once also a detention center run by Assad's air force intelligence branch, known for its cruelty.

The site in the capital's southwestern suburbs "used to be a symbol of military power. Now we are making a show about the fall of that power," he told AFP.

Assad fled to Russia as an opposition offensive closed in on Damascus, taking it without a fight on December 8 last year after nearly 14 years of civil war and half a century of Assad dynasty rule.

The scene at the Mazzeh base depicts the escape of a figure close to Assad and is set to feature in "The King's Family" filmed in high-security locations once feared by regular Syrians.

The series is to be aired in February during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, prime-time viewing in the Arab world, when channels and outlets vie for the attention of eager audiences.

Dozens of actors, directors and other show-business figures who were opposed to Assad have returned to Syria since his ouster, giving the local industry a major boost, while other series have also chosen to film at former military or security sites.

- 'Impossible before' -

"It's a strange feeling... The places where Syria used to be ruled from have been transformed" into creative spaces, Abdul Aziz said.

Elsewhere in Damascus, his cameras and crew now fill offices at the former military intelligence facility known as Palestine Branch, where detainees once underwent interrogation so brutal that some never came out alive.

"Palestine Branch was one of the pillars of the security apparatus -- just mentioning its name caused terror," Abdul Aziz said of the facility, known for torture and abuse.

Outside among charred vehicles, explosions and other special effects, the team was recreating a scene depicting "the release of detainees when the security services collapsed," he said.

Thousands of detainees were freed when jails were thrown open as Assad fell last year, and desperate Syrians converged on the facilities in search of loved ones who disappeared into the prison system, thousands of whom are still missing.

Assad's luxurious, high-security residence, which was stormed and looted after he fled to Russia, is also part of the new series.

Abdul Aziz said he filmed a fight scene involving more than 150 people and gunfire in front of the residence in Damascus's upscale Malki district.

"This was impossible to do before," he said.

- 'Fear' -

The series' scriptwriter Maan Sakbani, 35, expressed cautious relief that the days of full-blown censorship under Assad were over.

The new authorities' information ministry still reviews scripts, but the censor's comments on "The King's Family" were very minor, he said from a traditional Damascene house where the team was discussing the order of scenes.

Sakbani said he was uncertain how long the relative freedom would last, and was waiting to see the reaction to the Ramadan productions once they were aired.

Several other series inspired by the Assad era are also planned for release at that time, including "Enemy Syrians", which depicts citizens living under the eyes of the security services.

Another, "Going Out to the Well", directed by Mohammed Lutfi and featuring several prominent Syrian actors, is about deadly prison riots in the infamous Saydnaya facility in 2008.

Rights group Amnesty International had called the facility a "human slaughterhouse".

"The show was written more than two years ago and we intended to film it before Assad's fall," Lutfi said.

But several actors feared the former authorities' reaction and they were unable to find a suitable location since filming in Syria was impossible.

Now, they plan to film on site.

"The new authorities welcomed the project and provided extensive logistical support and facilities for filming inside Saydnaya prison," Lutfi said.

As a result, it will be possible "to convey the prisoners' suffering and the regime's practices -- from the inside the actual location," he said.

Entertainment

A Minute With ‘Knives Out’ Director Rian Johnson on Third Franchise Film 

Rian Johnson. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rian Johnson. (Getty Images/AFP)
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A Minute With ‘Knives Out’ Director Rian Johnson on Third Franchise Film 

Rian Johnson. (Getty Images/AFP)
Rian Johnson. (Getty Images/AFP)

Writer and director Rian Johnson is unveiling his third “Knives Out” mystery movie, “Wake Up, Dead Man,” which streams on Netflix on December 12.

The film centers around Father Jud Duplenticy, played by Josh O’Connor, who finds himself the prime suspect in a murder amidst a small, close-knit Catholic church congregation.

The “Knives Out” detective from the previous franchise films, Benoit Blanc, played by Daniel Craig, turns up to solve the mystery.

Johnson told Reuters about the process of creating the third film in the franchise.

Q. When you’re picking titles for films, like the last film “Glass Onion,” and this one “Wake Up, Dead Man,”– how much are you trying to befuddle the audience just with the title alone?

A. Well, I mean, you’re trying to pick a title that sounds like a good murder mystery title, that sounds a little intriguing but also that hopefully once you see the movie, you’re like, "it couldn’t have been named anything else." And this movie, I think the title is apropos.

Q. When you’re writing these mysteries, do you know who you have in mind for who the cast is?

A. I try not to, because it’s a pathway to heartbreak because in one way, all the actors are excited about being in them. It’s still we’re going after people who are the busiest people in the world, who are these movie stars so you don’t always know if it’s going to work out schedule-wise. So, if you’ve written with somebody deeply ingrained for that part and you can’t get them, then that’s a heartbreak. I try and write just to the characters. I try and just write an interesting group and then find the best people to play them.

Q. I think last time I interviewed you for "Glass Onion", you’d done this script already. How far ahead are you of future installments?

A. I actually think it’s quite important for me not to come up with an idea and start writing it until I know it’s going to be the next thing. So it’s not like I have a drawer of ideas for these things.