Mufasa director says Blue Ivy doesn't sing in the movie: 'She is a thespian!' (exclusive)

Blue Ivy Carter is working on her roar, but not necessarily her vocals.

In her very first movie role, the daughter of Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z plays Kiara, the daughter of King Simba (Donald Glover) and Queen Nala (Beyoncé) in Mufasa: The Lion King. However, filmmaker Barry Jenkins, who previously won an Oscar for 2016's Moonlight and directed the critically acclaimed If Beale Street Could Talk, tells Entertainment Weekly that Blue Ivy will not be singing in the musical prelude to 2019's The Lion King.

"Blue Ivy doesn't sing in the movie. She is a thespian! I gotta be honest about that. She is a thespian," Jenkins told EW in an interview conducted out of Disney's D23 fan event in Anaheim, Calif., over the weekend.

There will, however, be new music composed for the movie by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who continues his longstanding relationship with Disney after writing music for Moana, Encanto, and The Little Mermaid. "For me, working with Lin was amazing," Jenkins continues. "I've never made a musical before. So when I took the job, I knew that was going to be a part of it, but I just figured, 'We'll figure that out when we figure that out.' In a musical, we need to figure that out first!"

Mufasa: The Lion King is framed around Rafiki (John Kani), telling the legend of Mufasa to Kiara with Timon (Billy Eichner) and Pumbaa (Seth Rogen) by their sides. Audiences will meet the future king of Pride Rock in his younger years as an orphaned cub (voiced by Aaron Pierre). Mufasa meets a lion named Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the future Scar, who, at this time, is the heir to a royal bloodline. The duo quickly bond and become brothers from other mothers.

The cast also features Tiffany Boone as Mufasa's future queen, Sarabi; Kagiso Lediga as young Rafiki; Preston Nyman as Zazu; Mads Mikkelsen as Kiros; Thandiwe Newton as Taka’s mother, Eshe; Lennie James as Taka’s father, Obasi; and Disney's The Princess and the Frog veterans Anika Noni Rose and Keith David as Mufasa’s parents, Afia and Masego.

As previously told to EW back in April, Jenkins heard Blue Ivy read the audiobook recording of Matthew Cherry's short-film-turned-illustrated-book Hair Love. "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?'" Jenkins recalled at the time. "But once we put the question to them, they both responded with enthusiasm."

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The D23 presentation of Mufasa: The Lion King featured performances of the classic song “Nants’ Ingonyama” and the new piece “Ngomso” by Lebo M., who also contributed music to the movie. In addition, Rose teases the song she gets to sing, titled "Milele." She adds, "It's about the continuation of hope and the search for joy and love and holding onto that."

Mufasa: The Lion King will open in theaters this Dec. 20.

—Reporting by Sydney Bucksbaum.