Disney’s “The Lion King” is such a classic. It’s hard to follow that one, so instead of a sequel, how about a prequel? That’s exactly what “Mufasa: The Lion King” is. Deco sat down with the cast to tell us more about this epic musical story. Theo Somolu (as Taka Cub, voice): “I have a secret, Mufasa. I always wanted a brother.” “Mufasa: The Lion King” is the backstory of young bros Mufasa and Taka, aka Scar. Seth Rogen (as Pumbaa, recording booth): “One, two, three,” Seth Rogen (as Pumbaa, recording booth) and Billy Eichner (as Timon, recoding booth): “How can we help?” Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner, who voiced Timon and Pumbaa in the 2019 remake, say they are just glad to be back. Seth Rogen: “It’s great. It’s very flattering to be brought back and to not have been replaced by Josh Gad.” Billy Eichner: “Or John Mulaney.” Seth Rogen. “Or John Mulaney. Any number of people.” But they prefer the limelight on them. Billy Eichner: “We want the Timon And Pumbaa prequel.” Seth Rogen: “We want the pre-sequel.” Billy Eichner: “Yeah, the pre-sequel. We need to find out how Timon met Pumbaa. We need six new songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. He didn’t write us one this time.” Seth Rogen: “Zero songs were written for us.” Billy Eichner: “And so, I think this is what the world wants and what it needs.” Seth Rogen: “Yup.” With your Houseplant vinyl music expertise, how would you label this soundtrack, Seth? Seth Rogen: “I’d say it spans the gamut of strains. It’s a full-fledged emotional journey. Lin knew what he was doing on this one.” That’s right. Because Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the bops of this live-action flick … and even dedicated a song to his sons. Lin-Manuel Miranda: “Driving each other crazy, but then protecting each other to the outside, and for that, I didn’t have to look any further than my own apartment. And also, I write with the door open, so [my sons] would come in and just, like, give me notes, and then go back to whatever they were doing. ‘What are you writing, Daddy? Oh, OK. I don’t like that line. All right, bye!’ And then kind of leave.” Hakuna matata — no worries — young Scar is happy to stay and sing. Kelvin Harrison Jr. “It was cool to be in the studio with him. I was on my little perch as Taka/Scar, and he was right there with me, and we were just, like pretending to be lions and singing at the top of our lungs. It was really magical.” For Aaron Pierre, playing Mufasa was an honor. Aaron Pierre: “To be gifted the opportunity to contribute in a small way to the legacy of this beloved and cherished and celebrated character, and I’m hopeful that I served this character.” And Tiffany Boone voices Sarabi, aka future queen of the pride land, who runs into the two troublemakers. Tiffany Boone: “I think the band of misfits includes our characters: Sarabi, Taka, Mufasa. I think all of them are looking for a home, and Mufasa really believes in it, and we follow them to Pride Rock.” You can check out this beautiful origin story starting Friday at a theater near you.