Beyoncé Was "A Mom First" Working With Daughter Blue Ivy Carter on 'Mufasa'
Beyoncé's eldest daughter Blue Ivy Carter, 12, has joined her mom as a voice actor on upcoming live-action movie Mufasa: The Lion King.
Beyoncé already voiced Nala in 2019's The Lion King, and returns as the lioness, with Blue Ivy playing her on-screen lion cub Kiara.
This marks the pre-teen's movie debut, though she's already appeared on screen in a handful of Beyoncé's music videos, plus the visual album movie Black Is King.
Mufasa director Barry Jenkins spoke to Good Morning America about working with the mother-daughter duo, and it sounds like it was an amazing experience for him.
"Beyoncé is this larger-than-life figure, but when she's working with her daughter, when she's in the room with her daughter, she's a mom first," the filmmaker explained. "So much of that energy bled into the film."
It's not hard to see why it made sense for Bey and Blue to voice-act together in the movie.
"I think for them, too, they just approached it that they both wanted to perform and do the best they could," Jenkins said. "And yet, they didn't have to pretend very much because they really are mother and daughter."
He continued, "I was so glad that both Beyoncé and Blue Ivy were down to do it, and watching them work together was just really special."
The Moonlight director also explained that the 12-year-old is a consummate "professional," and that he realized she would be the perfect Kiara when he heard her narrate the audiobook Hair Love, a New York Times-bestselling children's book.
Speaking about Blue Ivy’s casting in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jenkins said: “A buddy of mine, Matthew Cherry, made the short film called Hair Love that Blue Ivy did the audio book of.
“Starting this project and just having that in the ether, I was like, ‘Is it worth a shot? Would Blue Ivy want to do it? Would Beyoncé want to act opposite her daughter? Is it too close to home?’ But once we put the question to them, they both responded with enthusiasm.”
He added: “What’s crazy is we made the film, and then the Renaissance tour happened, and I think Blue really grew up over the course of that tour,” he said. “So the Blue Ivy you see in this film, it’s like a time capsule, this very, very, very young stage of her life, and she got to share it with her mom. So, I thought there was some synergy. It could be beautiful.”
Mufasa will be released in theaters Dec. 20.
Beyoncé already voiced Nala in 2019's The Lion King, and returns as the lioness, with Blue Ivy playing her on-screen lion cub Kiara.
This marks the pre-teen's movie debut, though she's already appeared on screen in a handful of Beyoncé's music videos, plus the visual album movie Black Is King.
Mufasa director Barry Jenkins spoke to Good Morning America about working with the mother-daughter duo, and it sounds like it was an amazing experience for him.
"Beyoncé is this larger-than-life figure, but when she's working with her daughter, when she's in the room with her daughter, she's a mom first," the filmmaker explained. "So much of that energy bled into the film."
It's not hard to see why it made sense for Bey and Blue to voice-act together in the movie.
"I think for them, too, they just approached it that they both wanted to perform and do the best they could," Jenkins said. "And yet, they didn't have to pretend very much because they really are mother and daughter."
He continued, "I was so glad that both Beyoncé and Blue Ivy were down to do it, and watching them work together was just really special."
The Moonlight director also explained that the 12-year-old is a consummate "professional," and that he realized she would be the perfect Kiara when he heard her narrate the audiobook Hair Love, a New York Times-bestselling children's book.
Speaking about Blue Ivy’s casting in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Jenkins said: “A buddy of mine, Matthew Cherry, made the short film called Hair Love that Blue Ivy did the audio book of.
“Starting this project and just having that in the ether, I was like, ‘Is it worth a shot? Would Blue Ivy want to do it? Would Beyoncé want to act opposite her daughter? Is it too close to home?’ But once we put the question to them, they both responded with enthusiasm.”
He added: “What’s crazy is we made the film, and then the Renaissance tour happened, and I think Blue really grew up over the course of that tour,” he said. “So the Blue Ivy you see in this film, it’s like a time capsule, this very, very, very young stage of her life, and she got to share it with her mom. So, I thought there was some synergy. It could be beautiful.”
Mufasa will be released in theaters Dec. 20.
