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National Geographic has unveiled the official trailer for Lion which chronicles the four-year journey of a lion cub named Kio as he becomes a king.<\/p>\n
Lion is executive produced by The Lion King director Jon Favreau and BBC Studios Natural History Unit\u2019s Creative director Mike Gunton (Planet Earth II, Dynasties), with the score by composer Hans Zimmer, Niccol\u00f2 Pacella and George Huston Warren for Bleeding Fingers Music.<\/p>\n
The four-part event series debuts Thursday 20 August on National Geographic, airing in two weekly double bills at 8pm and 9pm. All four episodes stream from 20 August on Disney+.<\/p>\n
With narration by O.J. Lynch (Mufasa, The Lion King stage production), Lion tells the story of the Maasai Mara\u2019s lion kings and queens.<\/p>\n
Four years in the making and filmed in Kenya\u2019s Maasai Mara, the crew, including local Kenyan filmmakers, logged nearly 1,400 filming days across 52 shoots \u2014 the most time ever spent in the field exclusively following a single pride.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter tracking the lions in the field for four years, the pride never ceased to surprise us \u2014 what Kio endures and eventually becomes is extraordinary. Watching the hero\u2019s journey against the backdrop of nature was incredible to witness,\u201d says Favreau.<\/p>\n
Zimmer leads the score alongside Bleeding Fingers Music Group\u2019s Niccol\u00f2 Pacella and George Hutson Warren, with additional vocals from the Nairobi Chamber Chorus and theme co-composed by Lebo M. and Andrew Christie alongside Zimmer. Drawing on recordings captured in the Maasai Mara, including local singers, instruments and even lion roars, the music blends the scale of a cinematic adventure with the\u00a0 texture of the wild, while weaving in rerecorded musical nods to The Lion King. The original series soundtrack will be released through Hollywood Records on Aug. 21 and will be available wherever music is streamed.<\/p>\n
In celebration of National Geographic\u2019s Lion, Disney is continuing the Protect the Pride campaign, supporting the Wildlife Conservation Network\u2019s Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) and its partners working across Africa. The campaign shares the LRF\u2019s vision to help double the number of lions in the wild by 2050. Since the launch of Protect the Pride in 2019, Disney has invested over $5 million in LRF, whose network has helped support\u202fmore than 400 conservation projects across 26 countries focused on stabilizing and recovering lion populations through locally led solutions.<\/p>\n
Lion is produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit for National Geographic. Jon Favreau and Mike Gunton executive produce the series. Jane Atkins is series producer, and Simon Blakeney is co-executive producer. For National Geographic, Janet Han Vissering and Tom McDonald executive produce.<\/p>\n