Blue Ivy Carter is getting her due flowers for her growing portfolio, especially with one of her biggest projects yet on the way. Moreover, you probably already heard that Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s daughter will make her acting debut in Mufasa: The Lion King this December. While many folks out there might assume that this was the result of some nepo baby shenanigans, the movie’s director Barry Jenkins reiterated that it’s about much more than that. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight published on August 12, he elaborated on why they picked her for the role of Kiara (Nala and Simba’s daughter).
“She did a wonderful job bringing this character Kiara to life,” Barry Jenkins remarked concerning Blue Ivy. “I’m really proud of her, really proud of the work she did. As we were thinking of who could play this character, I thought, ‘Oh, this is it. She’s the right age, the right vibe. Let’s test it out.’ She was just tremendous. There are some things she does in this film that are really emotional. She’s a thespian. [And the casting] had nothing to do with mom and dad. She was the right young woman for the job.”
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 11: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) (EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE) (L-R) Blue Ive Carter and Beyoncé perform onstage during the “RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR” at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 11, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood/Getty Images)
Furthermore, it’s easy to see why Blue Ivy has been so successful in her media endeavors so far, as her mother Beyoncé also gave her much advice on dealing with public scrutiny and focusing beyond the haters. “One of [Blue Ivy’s] friends came back and showed her some negative comments and it was a great life lesson,” Tina Knowles recalled. “Because her mom basically said, ‘Listen, if you let this get you down, then they won. So you should go and work harder. And, you know, just work harder and get your skills together and go out there and blast it.’
“So it actually worked in [Blue Ivy’s] favor because she was only supposed to do it one time,” Tina Knowles continued. “But now her mom was, that mama bear was on to it. It was like, she was like, ‘You go out there and kill it,’ and she did. She just grew so much from that experience.”
Fans just got their first glimpse at the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King prequel trailer over the weekend, subsequently revealing a few big surprises along the way. The movie musical, set to premiere in theaters in December 2024, will star Beyoncé alongside her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. The film will be Blue Ivy’s feature film debut, at only 12 years old. Although details about the upcoming Lion King prequel remain scarce, the initial trailer reveals several exciting developments, allowing us to focus on a few key details. Let’s take a look at the trailer and behind-the-scenes info at our disposal, and examine what we can expect from the Mufasa: The Lion King prequel film.
Mufasa: The Lion King is a prequel to 2019’s The Lion King, starring Beyoncé and Donald Glover. The 2019 film is itself a remake of the 1994 animated classic of the same name. While 2019’s The Lion King had a few original songs in it, the film mostly relied on updated renditions of the original music from the cartoon. They released an album on streaming platforms to accompany the film, featuring both original material and existing Lion King music. The project was titled The Lion King: The Giftwith performances from Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams, and others.
Now, Mufasa: The Lion King will consist of wholly original music, as the prequel serves as a brand new outing for the franchise. Moreover, Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda will be composing and writing the original songs, as part of an ongoing deal with Disney. For now, we’re not sure if Blue Ivy will be singing any songs herself for the film, or if she’ll just be voice acting and leaving the songs to another performer. Of course, it seems likely based on her front-and-center inclusion in the cast, and her superstar musician parents, that Blue Ivy will be displaying her singing voice in the film for the world to hear.
Beyoncé And Blue Ivy Will Play A Mother & Daughter
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – AUGUST 11: (L-R) Blue Ive Carter and Beyoncé perform onstage during the “RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR” at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on August 11, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood)
It should come as no surprise that Blue Ivy will be playing the daughter of Beyoncé’s character in the Mufasa: The Lion King prequel. In the film, Beyoncé is slated to reprise her role as Nala from 2019’s The Lion King, alongside Donald Glover’s King Simba. According to a report in People, Blue Ivy will be playing the couple’s young daughter, Kiara. Kiara first appeared in the 1998 animated Lion King Sequel The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride. Despite being a sequel to one of the most revered and well-known Disney films of the last several decades, Simba’s Pride has remained relatively unnoticed since it debuted direct to video in the 90s. This means that, for most fans, Blue Ivy’s rendition of Kiara will be their first exposure to the character.
Several other performers are on pace to reprise their roles from the 2019 film as well, including Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, and John Kani. Other newcomers to the cast include Mads Mikkelsen, Keith David, and The Walking Dead‘s Lennie James. Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. will lead the cast, as young Mufasa and young Scar respectively. Pierre and Harrison previously worked together on the National Geographic limited series Genius, with Pierre portraying Malcolm X against Harrison’s Martin Luther King Jr.
Oscar Award-winning director Barry Jenkins is set to helm the upcoming Mufasa: The Lion King prequel, from a screenplay written by Catch Me If You Can scribe Jeff Nathanson. With all this talent behind the film, fans are already expecting an instant classic. Mufasa: The Lion King premiered on December 20, 2024, just in time for families to catch the movie for Christmas.
According to Jenkins, it was a real treat to see Beyoncé and Blue Ivy recording lines together. The filmmaker remarked that seeing the Grammy Award-winner “both on the screen and behind the screen, get to be a mother — and how that affected and impacted for the better the work that we were all doing — was just really awesome.” With any luck, Blue Ivy’s big performance will pave the way for a long and lucrative media career.
The 90-second trailer released on Monday morning, April 29, featuring Beyoncé voicing Nala and 12-year-old Blue Ivy is voicing a brand-new character, Kiara, Nala and Simba’s daughter. According to the YouTube description, the prequel movie centers on Rafiki “to relay the legend of Mufasa” to Kiara, “with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick.” Donald Glover reprises his voiceover role of Simba, and Aaron Pierre voices Mufasa.
“A buddy of mine, Matthew Cherry, made the short film called Hair Love that Blue Ivy did the audio book of,” Jenkins told Entertainment Weekly. “Starting this project and just having that in the ether, I was like, ‘Is it worth a shot? Would Blue Ivy want to do it? Would Beyoncé want to act opposite her daughter? Is it too close to home?’ But once we put the question to them, they both responded with enthusiasm.”
Jenkins added, “What’s crazy is we made the film, and then the Renaissance tour happened, and I think Blue really grew up over the course of that tour. So the Blue Ivy you see in this film, it’s like a time capsule, this very, very, very young stage of her life, and she got to share it with her mom. So, I thought there was some synergy. It could be beautiful.”
