Walt Disney Pictures’ ill-conceived ‘live-action’ take on The Lion King resulted in a soul-less mess of a movie (check out our review of the 2019 movie here), but it still managed to garner over US$1.65 billion at the worldwide box office.

According to Deadline, 2019’s The Lion King scriptwriter Jeff Nathanson is returning to write the sequel. While specific story details are obviously unknown at the time of writing, sources say that The Lion King 2 will “further explore the mythology of the characters” by delving into Mufasa’s origin story.

Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk director Barry Jenkins will be directing the upcoming movie. In a statement, he saidL

“Helping my sister raise two young boys during the ’90s, I grew up with these characters.

Having the opportunity to work with Disney on expanding this magnificent tale of friendship, love and legacy while furthering my work chronicling the lives and souls of folk within the African diaspora is a dream come true.”

None of the cast from the 2019 movie are confirmed to return as of yet, but they will probably do so. This is still Disney after all. These include Donald Glover (Simba), Beyoncé Knowles-Carter (Nala), Billy Eichner (Timon), or Seth Rogen (Pumbaa).

No release date has been announced.