A sequel to last year's hit live-action remake of 'The Lion King' is in development.
It has been confirmed that Barry Jenkins will direct 'The Lion King 2'.
Jenkins is an Oscar-winning filmmaker best-known for the films 'Moonlight' and its undervalued follow-up 'If Beale Street Could Talk'.
He won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for 'Moonlight' with Tarell Alvin McCraney.
Jenkins also received a Best Director nomination for the movie.
The coming-of-age drama beat 'La La Land' for Best Picture, making Barry Jenkins the second black person to direct a Best Picture winner.
The writer-director confirmed the news of landing the gig on Twitter:
He said in a statement: "Helping my sister raise two young boys during the 90s, I grew up with these characters.
"Having the opportunity to work with Disney on expanding this magnificent tale of friendship, love and legacy while furthering my work chronicling the lives and souls of folk within the African diaspora is a dream come true."
As with 'The Lion King' and 'The Jungle Book' remakes, this next project will use photo-realistic technology.
Details on the plot are scarce.
The film will delve deeper into the mythology of the characters including Mufasa’s origin story, reports Deadline.
It is unlikely to draw from the sequel to the 1994 animated feature, 'The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride.'
2019's 'The Lion King' beat 'Frozen' to become the highest grossing animated feature of all time.
It made $1.6 billion worldwide.
