New ‘Lion King’ Movie Makes MAJOR Change to Scar and Mufasa
In 1994, Walt Disney Animation released what would become one of Disney’s most iconic and beloved films ever, The Lion King. The Lion King tells the story of Simba, a young cub who is set to become King of the Pride Lands.
However, when his father dies trying to save him, Simba runs away, thinking it is his fault. His childhood best friend later finds him and tells Simba that his uncle has destroyed the Pride Lands, and he needs to return to save his family.
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The animated story was an absolute hit and, after its release, became the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, behind Jurassic Park (1993). Of course, that highest-grossing list has changed over the years, but The Lion King still remained incredibly popular.
Then, in 2019, Disney released a live-action remake of the film. The live-action remake soared in theaters and became Disney’s most successful movie ever, not counting Star Wars and Marvel.
This December, Disney is set to continue the story of The Lion King with the release of Mufasa: The Lion King. The new film will tell the story of Simba and Nala’s daughter, Kiara. However, it will also dive deeper into Mufasa’s origin story.
And this new film will confirm some huge news — Scar and Mufasa are not actually brothers.
In the original animated film, Simba calls Scar “Uncle Scar,” and Mufasa calls him “brother”. But it does not appear that the two are actually blood brothers.
According to Disney, the prequel will introduce Mufasa and Scar’s parents, as well as Scar’s birth name, Taka. The two lions do not share a mother or a father. Here is who will voice the new characters in Mufasa: The Lion King.
- Aaron Pierre as Mufasa
- Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Taka (AKA Scar)
- Thandiwe Newton as Taka’s mother, Eshe
- Lennie James as Taka’s father, Obasi
- Anika Noni Rose as Mufasa’s mother, Afia
- Keith David as Mufasa’s father, Masego
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Another piece of BIG news is that viewers will learn the exact reason why Scar (Taka) hates Mufasa so much.
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According to Disney, Taka is “a lion prince with a bright future who accepts Mufasa into his family as a brother.” But as we know, Mufasa becomes the king of the pride. So, Taka was supposed to be king, but the title was given to someone who was not royal and not even related to the royal family.
Something happens to cause Taka to lose his position, and it will be exciting to find out what it is.
Now, it is interesting to note that in 1994, there were a series of books published called The Lion King: Six New Adventures. Those were not published by Disney, but since they were based on the Disney animated feature, they had to be approved by Disney.
The first short story in the series is A Tale of Two Brothers. In that story, it is confirmed that Scar and Mufasa are biologically related. Mufasa is the older brother being trained to be the king, and Scar becomes jealous as his father ignores him more and more. Then, his father breaks a promise, and Scar vows to become king of the Pride Lands.
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It is typical for a lion pride to have only one male lion in the pack — the leader — and multiple lionesses. The lion will then mate with multiple lionesses in the pack, who are typically related. So, really, Disney could have decided to make Scar and Mufasa half-brothers, but it is interesting that they decided to shy away from that.
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In addition to the introduction of new characters, multiple actors and actresses from the live-action remake will return to reprise their roles. Donald Glover will return as the voice of Simba, Beyoncé will be back as Nala, and Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen will be back as everyone’s favorite duo, Timon and Pumbaa.
However, as you may have seen, James Earl Jones will not return as Mufasa for this Lion King prequel.
The new film was helmed by director Barry Jenkins, and in an exciting piece of news, Lin Manuel Miranda was brought on to create new music for the movie!
Mufasa: The Lion King will premiere in theaters nationwide on December 20.
Do you think Disney should have made Scar and Mufasa related? Let us know in the comments!
