Barry Jenkins on Honoring James Earl Jones in ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’s’ Opening Credits: ‘We Had All Lost a Patriarch’

variety.com:

Mufasa: The Lion King” begins with the voice of James Earl Jones, followed by a title card that reads, “In Remembrance.” Jones, who died in September at 93 years old, originated the voice of King Mufasa in the 1994 Oscar-winning animated feature “The Lion King,” its direct-to-video sequels and the 2019 live-action remake.

Jones did not return for the prequel, which opens in theaters on Dec. 20. Barry Jenkins, who helmed “Mufasa,” tells Variety why he decided to open the movie with a tribute to the late actor. “When I think about what James Earl Jones means, not even just to me, but to global audiences — people know this — I grew up without a father figure, and you go in and you watch this art, you watch these films, sometimes these fathers in these movies become a stand-in for that,” he says. “They become these father figures.” So, when Jones died, Jenkins explains, “It felt like we had all lost a patriarch.

We had all lost this man who meant so much. It felt like there was no way you could sit in this movie – go through an hour and 40 minutes — and not honor him in some way.