Production is underway on Barry Jenkins’ “The Lion King 2.”
Yes, you heard me right. Last September’s news that Jenkins was set to direct “Lion King 2” shocked many in the industry, but it shouldn’t be that surprising. Jenkins’ movies such as “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk,” were not hard-earners at the box-office. The writer-director probably needed the cash.
Jeff Nathanson, the writer behind the misbegotten 2019 “Lion King,” is back to script the sequel. The 2019 film, directed by Jon Favreau, was horrendously bland, there was none of the excitement and sense of adventure of the original 1994 animated classic. Of course, with Jenkins at the helm of the sequel, there is the slight chance that something special could arise, but I doubt it.
Regardless, this is, technically speaking, the definition of “selling out,” but do you actually blame Jenkins for signing on? Things aren’t the same for prominent directors as they were even just 10 years ago - the midbudget movie is dying, Ben Affleck agrees. Signing on for the sequel of a movie that made $1 billion will help Jenkins fund more personal projects. It’s as simple as that. The kind of movies Jenkins likes to make are a dying breed right now.
However, one must ask, would David Lynch, Paul Thomas Anderson, Joel Coen, Wes Anderson, and Quentin Tarantino ever sign on to direct “The Lion King 2”? Of course not.