Blue Ivy Carter will make her acting debut in the upcoming new film, “Mufasa: The Lion King” alongside her mom, Beyoncé.
In the first look of the Disney prequel to the 2019 live-action remake “The Lion King”, the mother-daughter duo are heard depicting Nala and young lioness Kiara, a character who hasn’t appeared since the 1998 animated film “The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride.”
Blue Ivy joins the cast as the daughter of adult Nala and Simba, played by Donald Glover. The film will explore Mufasa’s origin story, including his childhood and relationship with his brother Scar, the main antagonist in “The Lion King.”
“Mufasa” will feature original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Much of the cast from the 2019 film will be returning, including Seth Rogen as Pumbaa, Billy Eichner as Timon and John Kani as Rafiki.
“This story begins far beyond the mountains and the shadows, on the other side of the light,” Rafiki says in the trailer. “Born without a drop of nobility in his blood — a lion who would change our lives forever.”
“Watching Beyoncé 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,” director Barry Jenkins told People.
This isn’t the first time Beyoncé and Blue Ivy have teamed up, as the latter performed as a dancer during her mom’s Renaissance tour. The Grammy winner said she initially had reservations about allowing Ivy- Carter to perform. “She told me she was ready to perform, and I told her no,” Queen Bey revealed in the Renaissance film.
Beyonce’s mother Tina Knowles gushed about her granddaughter’s performances during the tour.
“She is 11 years old, and she had one week to prepare, and she’s just getting better and better,” Tina Knowles expressed in the concert film. “So I’m the proud grandma, always.”
“Mufasa: The Lion King” premieres in theaters on Dec. 20.