A serviceable prequel with a number of clear flaws.

Here’s the lion’s roar on Mufasa’s animated classification.

Barry Jenkins says there is more depth in The Lion King and Mufasa than people realize while responding to fan claims that he's too good for the movie.

It sounds like he's incredibly excited to make the Mufasa-centric film

One of the most hotly anticipated streaming events is the forthcoming Amazon limited series The Underground Railroad, based on the celebrated novel by Colson Whitehead and directed by Moonlight filmmaker Barry Jenkins. Jenkins has recently taken to his Vimeo account to release some footage, and today revealed something more traditionally teaser-like. And it is just as gorgeous as you’d probably imagine it’d be. The Underground Railroad imagines the railroad as both a series of safehouses and secret routes for slaves to safely pass, but also as an actual railroad system. (This is why the novel won the …

On Monday, Barry Jenkins released the first teaser for The Underground Railroad, his new television series coming soon to Amazon Prime Video. The Underground Railroad is adapted from Colson Whitehead's 2017 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. In addition to directing all episodes of The Underground Railroad, Jenkins has also written every episode, too, making this one of his biggest creative projects to date. Jenkins shared the first teaser clip from The Underground Railroad on Twitter on Monday afternoon. The clip is simple, yet very effective and very gorgeous (as all things from the lens of Jenkins …

In 2017, we reported on filmmaker Barry Jenkins' (Moonlight, If Beale Street Could Talk) upcoming television adaptation of The Underground Railroad, based on the acclaimed novel by Colson Whitehead. The unique, engaging alternate history show is coming to Amazon with all episodes directed by Jenkins. And now, per Amazon Studios' official Twitter, Jenkins has shared the first images from the work. And they are beautifully lensed, haunting looks at what's sure to be a provocatively engaging series. Photography only wrapped on the series eight days ago (according to Jenkins' Twitter), so to get this level of photography, color, and …

In news that feels both inevitable and completely out-of-the-blue, Disney has tasked Oscar-winning Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk filmmaker Barry Jenkins to direct a sequel to last year’s lavish Lion King remake (according to Deadline). He will be taking over directorial duties from Jon Favreau, who seemingly has his hands full with his Star Wars series The Mandalorian on Disney+ and other endeavors in a galaxy far, far away. According to the report Jeff Nathanson, who wrote last year’s update (which was more or less a photocopy of the beloved 1994 animated …

If you never watched The Knick, you are missing out on one of the great early 20th century character-driven surgery dramas (er, that might be the only one). Starring Clive Owen as an unstable medical genius and André Holland as a talented surgeon beset by pervasive discrimination, the Steven Soderbergh-directed Cinemax show aired for two intense seasons before coming to an end... or so we thought. Per The Playlist, a third season of The Knick is in the works — though Soderbergh is taking a reduced role this time around. [caption id="attachment_630167" align="alignright" width="360"] Image via …

Barry Jenkins, who won an Oscar for writing Moonlight, has been tapped to write a feature adaptation of the 2014 documentary Virunga that will be produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and released once again on Netflix. DiCaprio executive produced the documentary from writer-director Orlando von Einsiedel, whose film earned an Oscar nomination for its depiction of the rangers who regularly risk their lives to save Africa's most beloved national park and its endangered gorillas. DiCaprio will produce via his Appian Way banner along with Jennifer Davisson and Phillip Watson, as well as Oscar winner Joann Natasegara of Violent Films. …

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In an alternate universe, Oscar-winning Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk filmmaker Barry Jenkins is currently putting the finishing touches on a Moneypenny spinoff movie set within the James Bond universe. Yes indeed, Moneypenny actress Naomie Harris herself—who worked with Jenkins on Moonlight and received an Oscar nomination for her stunning turn in the Best Picture winner—recently revealed that she and Jenkins hatched a plan to make a Moneypenny movie. So what happened? Well, according to Harris, the Bond producers weren’t too keen on the idea. Asked about the potential Moneypenny spinoff on Good Morning …

Naomie Harris confirmed that a conversation has been started regarding the possible spin-off project.

James Bond isn't really a franchise that does spinoffs—25 and counting with no side-movies in sight despite the gritty Oddjob origin story being right there—but maybe an Oscar-winner can break tradition. During a discussion with Coming Soon about the upcoming Black and Blue, actress Naomie Harris casually mentioned that If Beale Street Could Talk director Barry Jenkins, who worked with Harris on his Best Picture-winner Moonlight, wants to get a standalone film for Harris' Moneypenny off the ground. “Actually, Barry Jenkins, the director of Moonlight, he always said that he wanted to do a …

Rachel Morrison, the first woman ever nominated for a Best Cinematography Oscar, is about to make her feature directorial debut. Morrison made waves with her work as a DP on films like Dope and Fruitvale Station before landing an Oscar nomination for her work on Dee Rees’ underrated 2017 Netflix drama Mudbound. She subsequently reteamed with Ryan Coogler to shoot Marvel’s excellent Black Panther (which, by no coincidence, is the best-shot Marvel movie to date) and now she’s looking to direct her first feature film. Per Variety, Morrison will helm Flint Strong for Universal Pictures, which boasts …

Though it doesn't yet have a title, Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins' new directorial feature effort does have a new home: Disney's newly acquired subsidiary Fox Searchlight. He'll next direct the currently untitled film about one of the 20th century's most influential choreographers, the late Alvin Ailey. The studio made a deal with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater last year, getting the full cooperation of the organization that oversees the rights to both Ailey's choreography and Jennifer Dunning's biography, "Alvin Ailey: A Life in Dance." Though Disney's acquisition of all things Fox has …