National Geographic brings us Lion and it’s giving full-blown Disney blockbuster energy, minus the sing-along and dance numbers.
This four-part event series follows Kio, a lion cub in Kenya’s Maasai Mara, on his four-year climb from vulnerable newborn to king. Jon Favreau, who directed the live-action Lion King remake, executive produces alongside BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s Mike Gunton, the mind behind Planet Earth II and Dynasties. A closer look was shown at D23 this past weekend, and it is definitely a must see!
Simply put, you’re getting Hollywood storytelling mixed with elite wildlife documentary craft.
The score is where you’re in for a real treat. Hans Zimmer, the mind behind Dune and Interstellar, leads the music alongside Bleeding Fingers Music’s Niccolò Pacella and George Hutson Warren, with vocals from the Nairobi Chamber Chorus recorded on location in Kenya.
Expect the score to lean into cinematic scale while quietly nodding back to The Lion King‘s musical DNA. The soundtrack drops via Hollywood Records on August 21.
Narration comes from O.J. Lynch, who’s played Mufasa in The Lion King stage production, a nice full-circle moment for a series that’s essentially “if The Lion King were a real nature doc”.
Here’s the wild part: this took four years to film and is the first natural history production to capture a lion’s entire journey of growing up. The crew logged nearly 1,400 filming days across 52 shoots, the most time ever spent following a single pride in the field.
Favreau has said that watching Kio’s journey unfold against the Maasai Mara was something else entirely.
Beyond the screen, Disney is continuing its “Protect the Pride” campaign with the Wildlife Conservation Network’s Lion Recovery Fund, aiming to help double the wild lion population by 2050. Since 2019, Disney has put over $5 million toward the cause, backing 400+ conservation projects across 26 countries.
Lion roars onto National Geographic August 19 at 9/8c, then streams in full on Disney+ and Hulu starting August 20.
If you loved The Lion King growing up, this might be the closest thing to watching it happen in real life.
Check out the trailer for Lion down here!
