LOS ANGELES: Filmmaker Barry Jenkins has roped in actor Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr for two major roles in his upcoming prequel movie to "The Lion King".
The Oscar-winning director will direct the new project from a script by Jeff Nathanson, who had also worked on the Jon Favreau-directed 2019 live-action movie, which was a remake of the 1994 animated classic, reported Deadline.
The logline is being kept under wraps, but it is expected that the film will further explore the mythology of the characters, including Mufasa's origin story.
Pierre, who recently worked with Jenkins on the historical TV series "The Underground Railroad", will voice Mufasa, a role that was earlier played by veteran actor James Earl Jones in both the 1994 and 2019 films.
Harrison Jr, best known for starring in filmmaker Trey Edward Shults' drama "Waves", will portray Scar, whose birth-name is Taka.
The untitled prequel will continue with the photorealistic animation technology that Favreau used for the live-action remake.
Voice starring Donald Glover as Simba and Beyonce as Nala, the 2019 film was a massive hit for the studio.
Pierre was most recently seen in M Night Shyamalan's "Old" and Jenkins' Amazon series "The Underground Railroad".
Harrison Jr will next star in filmmaker Joe Wright's "Cyrano".
He is also playing the late singer-songwriter BB King in upcoming Elvis Presley biopic, being helmed by Baz Luhrmann.