The Lion King's Mufasa & Scar Retcon Fixes An Uncomfortable Romance From 26 Years Ago (2024)

Mufasa: The Lion King has retconned Scar and Mufasa's relationship and, in doing so, fixed a problem with an old lion romance. The upcoming 2024 movie follows up 2019's The Lion King remake, serving as a sequel and prequel wrapped in one. Set predominantly during Mufasa and Scar's childhood, Mufasa: The Lion King has already proven that it is full of surprises since the trailer alone dropped a pretty huge bombshell. The news that these two royal lions weren't really brothers retroactively changes a lot about the story—going as far as to improve the Lion King sequel from the 1990s.

The trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King sees Rafiki begin to tell a young Princess Kiara, Simba's daughter, the story of how Mufasa became king. His tale makes up most of the film, detailing how Scar (originally called Taka) saved Mufasa's life when they were cups and talked his royal family into taking the lost lion in. This is quite a revelation since it means that Mufasa and Scar are not blood relatives. Mufasa: The Lion King will have to explain how Mufasa became king ahead of Scar despite not being royalty. However, there is more to be gleaned from this news.

Mufasa: The Lion King Retroactively Fixes The Old Lion King Sequel

After the success of the original The Lion King movie in 1994, Disney came out with a sequel, The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, in 1998. The story follows Simba's journey raising his strong-willed daughter, Kiara, who falls in love with a handsome young lion named Kovu. The problem was that Kiara's paramour was part of the group of lions banished from the Pride Lands after Scar's downfall. Moreover, this young lion greatly resembled Scar, and while the characters weirdly denied it, Kovu's arc suggested that he was Scar's son—and, therefore, Kiara's cousin.

Kovu and his mother, Zira, were adamant that Scar wasn't the young lion's father, but this never really checked out. Kovu was presented as a sort of "Scar reborn," with everything from his appearance to his words being remniscent of the old villain. Of course, Kovu being Scar's son would have made his romance with Kiara weird. Rather than rework the story, Disney just offhandedly threw in lines suggesting that Kovu wasn't a blood relative of Scar, even though it didn't make sense. Now, none of this matters since Mufasa: The Lion King has broken the family tree, revealing that none of these characters are related.

Kovu & Kiara Aren't The Only Weird Romance In The Lion King

The Lion King Really Needed To Break Up The Family Tree

The family tree in The Lion King has already been a little weird, so Mufasa: The Lion King breaking things up helps a great deal. Fans have long discussed the fact that Mufasa and Scar were the only male lions of their generation in The Lion King, which means that Simba and Nala were either siblings or cousins. While this wouldn't be weird in a real lion pride, it's a little uncomfortable for a Disney movie. By revealing that Scar and Mufasa aren't brothers, the family tree within this fictional universe is a bit more freed up.

Of course, Mufasa: The Lion King could take this further. It's possible that the upcoming film will introduce more male lion characters, both in the past and present, alleviating the necessity for incest in the Lion King canon. This would be especially helpful if Disney plans to continue releasing sequels since it would only become harder to bring in more generations without awkward overlaps. It's also essential that the characters know that Mufasa and Scar aren't related, but Mufasa: The Lion King has already seen to this for Princess Kiara.

Mufasa: The Lion King's Big Retcon Opens The Door For A New Simba's Pride Movie

The Way Is Clear For Another The Lion King Movie

When Disney announced that another photorealistic The Lion King movie was on the way, many assumed that it would be a remake of The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. However, this wouldn't have been easy to pull off. The animated Lion King was beloved in its own right, but it wasn't the same quality as the original 1994 movie. The sloppiness of Kovu's paternity is an example of this, and such a feeble attempt to claim that Scar wasn't the cub's father just wouldn't have worked in the 2019's The Lion King's format. However, Now that Mufasa: The Lion King has changed things up, this sequel just might work.

The 2024 The Lion King movie featuring a young Kiara indicates that Disney hasn't forgotten about The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. Perhaps the House of Mouse first wanted to establish that Mufasa and Taka weren't really brothers so that Kovu could truly be Scar's son in a coming sequel. This would allow for a less uncomfortable romance but a far more believable story (as far as talking lions go, anyway). Of course, only time will tell. For now, we will just have to buckle up and wait to see what other surprises Mufasa: The Lion King has in store.

Mufasa: The Lion King

Not Yet Rated

Action

Animation

Adventure

Mufasa: The Lion King is a prequel to the live-action remake of the original Disney animated film, The Lion King. The film will follow Mufasa in his early days; further plot details are currently under wraps. The film will likely explore Mufasa and Scar's relationship and how it became as strained as it did. In the film, Timon and Pumba will return, with Billy Eicher and Seth Rogen reprising their roles.

Director

Barry Jenkins

Release Date

December 20, 2024

Distributor(s)

Disney

Writers

Jeff Nathanson

Cast

Seth Rogen , Billy Eichner , Kelvin Harrison Jr. , Aaron Pierre , John Kani

Main Genre

Adventure