Jon Favreau Felt Intimidated by James Earl Jones After Bringing Him Back for The Lion King Live-Adaptation and We Don’t Blame Him

James Earl Jones, a stuttering child who decided to spend his childhood in silence, climbed to Broadway and Hollywood stardom with sheer talent, drive, and an immensely captivating voice. The actor became the voice of The King of the Pride Lands, Mufasa, in The Lion King in 1994. He returned to voice the character once again in a Jon Favreau-directed photo-realistically animated remake of the animated movie in 2019.

It has been known that Favreau worked on developing the adaptation of the animated movie after he was inspired by certain roles of characters in the Broadway adaptation of the story. Despite receiving mixed responses from the critics, the movie grossed over $1.65 billion worldwide. Director Jon Favreau recalled how Earl Jones’ return to the character for the 2019 version was different from his 1994 version.

Jon Favreau describes working with James Earl Jones in The Lion King as ‘surreal‘

In an interview with USA Today, Jon Favreau, who helmed the computer-animated adaptation of 1994’s The Lion King, shared his experience of working with James Earl Jones, who voiced Mufasa in the original movie. The filmmaker said reaching out to the actor was a no-brainer, but working with him and listening to him record for Mufasa was surreal. He said,

All you could say is, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m hearing you read these lines.’ It hits you so deeply. It’s beyond just appreciating a performance. It’s tapping into something that’s inside of you. It was hard to not be intimated.

Not only was Favreau the director of The Lion King, but he is also an ardent Star Wars fan, and with Earl Jones being the voice of Darth Vader, it is understandable that the filmmaker felt a little intimidated. The director has, however, voiced the alien Rio in Solo: A Star Wars Story and is an executive producer and writer on the upcoming series The Mandalorian. He continued to share with the publication.

I remember when we were recording his voice for Mufasa, he asked me if I had any direction for him, and I didn’t know what to say. It was like, ‘Just do what you do. You are him.’ It would be like asking me how to play Darth Vader. You’ve created this character, and decades have gone by, and we’ve all grown with it.

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Favreau shared with Empire Magazine that the timbre of Earl Jones’ voice changed when he returned to play the character in 2019. He added that the change in his voice served the role well because he sounded like a king who has ruled for a long time.

Celebrated actor James Earl Jones passes away at the age of 93

On September 9, 2024, EGOT winner James Earl Jones, voice of Darth Vader and Mufasa, passed away at his home in New York, surrounded by his family members. No cause of death has been shared as of now, but it has been known that the late actor was a longtime sufferer of diabetes.

He was 93 when he passed away. In his interview with BBC in 2012, the actor was asked if he ever resented being the voice of Darth Vader, who has few lines while another actor played the character on-screen, to which he said,

I love being part of that whole myth, of that whole cult.

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The actor shared that he has always obliged fans’ requests to command recitals of his ‘I am your father’ line to Luke Skywalker. Mark Hamill, who played Luke Skywalker, extended his condolences for the late actor by writing ‘#RIP Dad’.

James Earl Jones is regarded as one of the greatest actors in the industry, and the Empire State Building paid respects to the actor by displaying his iconic walk as Darth Vader. The video was shared online with a caption that read, ‘May the Force be with you, J.E.J.’ Star Wars music played in the background as Darth Vader walked, and the video shows the crowd cheering for the actor.

James Earl Jones will always be remembered for his legacy. The Lion King is available to stream on Disney+.

We extend our condolences for James Earl James’ family and friends.