Who is Braelyn in Mufasa: The Lion King? Details explored

Disney's 1994 animated movie showed us the story of a young cub, Simba, and began The Lion King storyline. After three decades, Mufasa: The Lion King was released; it told the story of his father, the titular Mufasa. While the character was primarily voiced by Aaron Pierre, the younger version of him had the voice of Braelyn Rankins, with some additional lines from his sister, Brielle.

The film serves as both a prequel and a sequel to 2019's The Lion King, which reimagined the original 1994 story in a photorealistic style. While Simba was at the heart of that film, we also got to see Mufasa in it—though we all know his fate, so we’ll avoid talking about it.

Unlike Aaron Pierre, James Earl Jones, who originally voiced the character in the 1994 animated movie, returned for the role. Sadly, he passed away three months before Barry Jenkins' film was released. Some archived recordings were used, so we get to hear him in the film's opening for the last time.

Who is Braelyn Rankins?

Braelyn Rankins doesn't have a long role in the film, but he sure became a known and viral voice after he performed the now-beloved I Always Wanted a Brother alongside Theo Somolu, Aaron Pierre, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. The hair-raising song shows Mufasa and Taka growing up in a powerful sequence where Taka, who will later come to be known as Scar, spills the beans: he "always wanted a brother."

He was one happy soul, as seen in an interview with Electronic Urban Report after the Disney movie had earned a whopping $700 million and was heading to streaming platforms. He said:

"I know even a few of my friends weren’t able to see it in the theater. So knowing that they’ll be able to watch it at home and even that I’ll be able to watch it at home—there are definitely a few scenes that I want to go back to and watch over and over again. But I’m just really excited for everyone to be able to see it from the comfort of their couch."

Though he has appeared in a number of projects—including as a younger version of Vic in Doom Patrol (2019), Clarence in Genius (2017), Calvin Richards in Take Note (2022), and more—this may be his most memorable performance yet.

A little bit about the titular protagonist in Mufasa: The Lion King

This is the first time Disney chose to focus on Mufasa, the original king of the Pride Lands. Though initially, back in the day, Scar manages to get rid of him in 1994’s The Lion King, we later see him guiding his son from the sky, much like when Goku communicates with his son in Dragon Ball Z during his last stand against Cell.

When the creators were writing The Lion King, Mufasa and Scar weren’t originally related. But then they thought of making the story more powerful by adding the family element—hence all the chaos, which also helped render Scar one of the most memorable Disney antagonists of all time.

There are some rumors, according to industry scooper Daniel RPK, that another The Lion King film is coming. If that’s a live-action The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, we can expect the spirit of the king of the Pride Lands joining his son again—though briefly.