National Geographic is set to premiere Lion, a groundbreaking four-part nature documentary following a single lion cub named Kio across a four-year production timeline in Kenya. Directed by Jon Favreau and featuring aerial cinematography by Anthony Njuguna, the series arrives on television and streaming in August.
Nature documentary production rarely affords filmmakers the luxury of time, let alone absolute patience. Traditional wildlife filmmaking relies on brief expeditions, stitched-together footage from various animals, and editors working backwards to fabricate a narrative arc. The upcoming National Geographic docuseries Lion upends that formula entirely. By embedding a production crew in the wilderness for about 1,400 days, the team behind the four-part project captured a multi-year coming-of-age story starring a young cub named Kio and his family.
Following Kio and Summer’s Pride Across Four Years
The scale of the project required an unprecedented level of commitment from both on-the-ground talent and executive leadership. Director of photography Sophie Darlington explained why, stating, Do you know what it is? It's being allowed to have four years to follow one pride of lions and to give complete control to them. They wrote the script. We just were there to capture it.
The crew shot for about 1,400 days, marking the most time ever spent following a single pride. It took that time to capture these lions in good times, challenging times, and sad times while focusing on the cub named Kio and his journey to become a future lion king.
And it takes a lot of nerve because this is a tricky project. It's a risky project,
said executive producer Michael Gunton. You understand that life does have its ups and downs but, in the end, as long as you try to move on, you will succeed and this amazing lion does.
The narrative centers squarely on Kio, who is shown growing nearly as tall as his mother and walking alongside her with a stride that reveals increasing confidence. The cast of lions also includes pride males like Osapuk and Ukingo, as well as Autumn, Summer’s sister. Executive producer Jon Favreau, who directed the live action version of “The Lion King,noted that you have to go where your curiosity draws you. Favreau explained that BBC Studios executive producer Mike Gunton came to him saying,
There’s an opportunity here to do something unprecedented, which is following a pride of lions,” adding that if they could embed for four years, they could tell a story with a scope that’s never been told before. Darlington added that there are no people in it, emphasizing that it is absolutely about one lion family, heart, drama, and a story for the whole family.
Cinematic Drone Work and Local Kenyan Talent
Capturing four years of continuous wildlife behavior demanded technical innovation alongside traditional camera work. National Geographic’s latest documentary series features cinematography by local Kenyan talent, including aerial cinematographer Anthony Njuguna, who spoke with PetaPixel about his camera work. Njuguna used his DJI Inspire drone for much more than typical top-down aerial shots, explaining that there are quite a lot of hidden drone shots in the series that he is not too sure most people would pick up on, including low shots. With advancements in drone technology regarding cameras and air stability, the drone could move faster and into areas a camera operator cannot, especially when filming wildlife like lions.
Njuguna used his Inspire drone with super-wide, standard, and telephoto lenses. While wide-angle shots established the scene and showed where lions live and hunt, standard and telephoto lenses provided a much closer view of the lions resting or hunting. Njuguna noted that he enjoyed using his 50mm lens the most because shooting on a Super35 sensor gave him many unique shots from a good working distance without disturbing the lions or disrupting their behaviors. Operating his drone from inside the crew’s vehicle alongside a guide, Njuguna watched footage from a monitor while keeping a close eye on the drone in the field to maintain line of sight for safety and framing.
Collaborative Field Production and Release Details
While some docuseries feature independent cinematographers working separately, Lion operated differently. Njuguna worked very closely with fellow cinematographers, including Sammy Munene, Job Makatiani, Joe Treddenick, and Tania Escobar, all posing together in the camera vehicle as they collaborated to achieve a consistent look and cover each other. The filmmakers constantly shared footage and helped each other improve during production, with Njuguna receiving advice to trust himself and his instincts while filming in the field.
Following the four-year journey that followed Kio to become the king of his pride, viewers can see “Lion” starting Wednesday, August 19, on Nat Geo, and Thursday, August 20, on Disney+ and Hulu.
