Jon Favreau has discussed making his first documentary, National Geographic’s four-part series “Lion”, which follows a cub named Kio from cubhood towards becoming a king in Kenya’s Maasai Mara. He said the uncertainty over Kio’s survival was harrowing, reflecting the production’s commitment to observing real events without CGI, digital alteration or manipulated footage.

Favreau collaborated for four years with wildlife producer Mike Gunton and a team including Kenyan filmmaker Faith Musembi. The crew filmed for nearly 1,400 days across 52 shoots, said to be the most time spent exclusively following one pride, while tracking individual lions through detailed identification records; the series is presented as the first natural-history production to document a lion’s full journey from cub to king.