Disney’s upcoming live-action prequel, “Mufasa: The Lion King,” begins with a tribute to the late James Earl Jones.

Jones, who voiced King Mufasa in the original “The Lion King” movie, died in September at 93.

Barry Jenkins, the director of the prequel, chose to honor Jones by opening the live-action movie to the sound of the late actor’s voice, Jenkins told Entertainment Weekly.

“I grew up without a father figure. I think for a lot of people this character and that voice is synonymous with this idea of a surrogate father, or at least the example of what a father-son dynamic should be like,” Jenkins said, per Entertainment Weekly. “I wanted to find a way to honor that.”

The “Mufasa” prequel opens with a blank screen while Jones’ famous speech from “The Lion King” plays.

“Look at the stars,” said Jones in the voiceover sequence, per People. “The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars. So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you, and so will I.”

Text then reveals itself on the screen that reads, “In remembrance of James Earl Jones.”

Jenkins told Entertainment Weekly he was working on early press for “Mufasa” when Jones died. Jones didn’t record new material for “Mufasa” prior to his death, but Jenkins hoped to honor the actor and the 30-year anniversary of the original animated film in the prequel.

“I remember both intellectually preparing myself for that conversation, but emotionally thinking about, ‘What am I going to do?’ or ‘We have to do something for 30 years,’” the director said, per Entertainment Weekly.

As Jenkins pondered a solution, he recalled hearing Jones’ voice. “It just felt like it was something that we had to do,” he told the outlet.

He then listened to “every line (Jones) recorded for the previous film” in search of the right Mufasa performance to include in the tribute. He ultimately chose to use the “kings of the past” speech, a decision he said “wasn’t an intellectual choice,” but rather, “it was a gut choice,” per Entertainment Weekly.

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Jones voiced Mufasa in both the 1993 animated “The Lion King” and the 2019 live-action “The Lion King.”

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In “Mufasa,” the king will be voiced by Aaron Pierre, per People. Pierre called voicing Mufasa a “massive privilege” and noted, “the shoes of James Earl Jones cannot be filled, and I wouldn’t ever claim to be filling them.”

Jones is “one of my greatest inspirations,” the actor told People. “His work on the stage, film and television is just outstanding. There’s not a word available to my vocabulary to articulate how phenomenal he is as an artist.”

“I hope (he’s) somewhere smiling, saying, ‘Good job.’”

When does ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ come out?

“Mufasa: The Lion King” comes to theaters on Friday, Dec. 20. It is rated PG.

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Watch: Trailer for ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’

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