National Geographic's new four-part series 'Lion' documents the coming-of-age journey of a cub called Kio as he grows up from a vulnerable youngling in Kenya's Masaai Mara forest reserve to a majestic adult lion that survives personal losses, exile and fierce rivals in the wild.
Roping in Hollywood filmmaker Jon Favreau as executive producer and with Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer on the score, 'Lion' blends natural history filmmaking with cinematic storytelling.
Executive producer Mike Gunton likens the documentary to the 1994 Disney animated classic 'The Lion King' which Favreau remade in 2019 and which Zimmer also scored for in both iterations.
Speaking to Reuters, Gunton revealed that the crew spent four whole years in Kenya to follow a particular family of lions, eventually zeroing in on the cub Kio as a protagonist.
The Emmy-winner behind documentaries like 'Planet Earth II' and 'Prehistoric Planet' told Reuters: "Following one individual male lion from a cub to making it to the end as a king. If you ask anybody in our business about trying to do that, they'd say, you're a a fool. They'd say it is an impossible thing to do."
Gunton traces the project's origins from Favreau using the documentary series 'Dynasties' as a reference for recreating photorealistic lion mannerisms for his 'Lion King' remake.
Releasing in 2018, 'Dynasties' drew acclaim for its exploration of endangered species with one episode dedicated to lions.
When Gunton sought to expand upon the scope of 'Dynasties' with a lion-focused series, he reunited with Favreau and "we were making our version of The Lion King."
The series also reunites Gunton with his 'Dynasties' director of photography Sophie Darlington who filmed with a crew of 13 cinematographers, prioritising a 2:1 screen format 'so that you felt it was a drama.'
Darlington's biggest challenge was filming in early morning when the lions would sleep and camouflage with the golden-yellow grass at Maasai Mara. The other challenge, which the documentary also highlights, is that many lion cubs don't survive adulthood.
Reflecting on filming Kio's four-year-long journey, the cinematographer told Reuters: "I genuinely didn't think it was possible. Because when lions grow up, they get exiled out of their pride. They go often for hundreds of miles. You lose track of them very quickly. "
For Gunton, the series allows 'lions and Mother Nature to tell the story, playing out as 'a
natural drama' that 'matches all these extraordinary archetype beats of a hero's journey.' 'Lion' premieres on National Geographic on August 19 in the US and August 20 in the UK and internationally. All four episodes will stream on Hulu in the US and Disney+ globally from August 20.
