Mufasa Makes A Dark Dynamic In The Lion King Even More Tragic

The following contains spoilers for Mufasa: The Lion King, now playing in theatersMufasa: The Lion King adds new layers to a notable character dynamic in The Lion King and makes some elements of the earlier film more tragic in retrospect. Mufasa: The Lion King is the latest addition to The Lion King franchise, offering a new explanation for how Mufasa came to rule over the Pride Lands. This gives the story a chance to expand on the backstories and motivations of Mufasa: The Lion King‘s cast of characters, setting the stage for their evolution into their eventual forms for The Lion King. At times, this hurts the film’s overall sense of tension.

However, the filmmakers also use this opportunity to flesh out the characters in unexpected ways. This gives the ending of Mufasa: The Lion King more thematic weight and clear connections to The Lion King than one might have expected. This is especially true for one of the more interesting additions to the story, which plays into the eventual evolution from the kind-hearted but cowardly Taka into the vindictive and ruthless Scar. In the process, Mufasa: The Lion King achieves an important strength that few prequels really reach, which helps elevate the new film and adds layers to The Lion King.

Taka’s Romantic Feelings For Sarabi Makes Lion King Darker

Taka Being In Love With Sarabi Gives His Transformation Into Scar An Even Sadder Element

One of the best additions to the lore of The Lion King made in Mufasa: The Lion King is the revelation that Taka had romantic feelings for Sarabi before she began her romance with his adopted brother, adding layers to his evolution into Scar. In Mufasa: The Lion King, the addition of Sarabi to lion brothers’ journey introduces new drama. Not long after meeting Sarabi, Taka is revealed to have fallen in love with her during the song “We Go Together,” something he subsequently admits to Mufasa. Initially, Mufasa even helps Taka try to impress Sarabi and win her affections.

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This extends to Mufasa allowing Taka to take credit for saving her from the elephant stampede. However, it doesn’t take long for the lioness to realize the truth, and she quickly reveals her true feelings for Mufasa. This proves to be the final straw for Taka, who turns on his brother and sides with Kiros. This adds a new layer to Scar’s eventual hatred for Mufasa, as his adopted brother is now revealed to have unwittingly taken not just a throne from Scar but someone Taka was genuinely in love with. It gives Scar’s decision to kill Mufasa more motivation.

Scar’s Conflict With Sarabi In The Lion King Is Even Darker After Mufasa

Mufasa: The Lion King Gives Their Scene Together In The Lion King Even Darker Connotations

Scar’s handling of the Pride Lands after usurping the throne in The Lion King takes on new meaning after Mufasa: The Lion King. Like his father before him, Scar refuses to actively hunt for himself and instead works the lionesses to the brink. His blunt and harsh demands that she become his queen becomes darker in light of his former feelings for her. This also deepens Sarabi’s resentment, who is presented as unimpressed and uninimated by the villain. That moment was already intense due to their connection through Mufasa, but gains extra weight after revelations in Mufasa: The Lion King.

Scar’s cruelty towards Sarabi is a far cry from the efforts he made to connect with her as Taka. Conversely, Sarabi was initially friendly with Taka and briefly considered him a noble figure before seeing his true colors by the ending of Mufasa: The Lion King. They were once traveling companions and friends, but years later have become cold to one another and embittered to the other’s situation. This gives Sarabi’s persistence and saying the name Mufasa in the face of Scar’s fury all the more potent, as she fully understands how much Scar came to hate his adopted brother.

Scar Hating Simba Takes On New Meaning After Mufasa

Scar’s Dislike For His Nephew Is Even More Tragic After Mufasa: The Lion King

The dark history between Sarabi and Taka in Mufasa: The Lion King even adds grim layers to the relationship between Simba and Scar in The Lion King. Initially, Scar’s hatred for his nephew seemed to largely stem from his anger over the young prince taking his place in the hierarchy of royal succession. This prompted him to manipulate the cub and even order his death. With the discovery that Scar loved Sarabi, his fury at Simba becomes more personal. Instead of just seeing Simba as a roadblock, Scar could see him as the ultimate reminder of Mufasa’s triumph over him.

More than just being a lowly lion who rose up to king and made his son royalty, Mufasa had Simba with the lioness Taka loved. Every time Scar looks at Simba, he is reminded that in another life, it could have been his son with Sarabi instead. Scar likely looks at Simba as the ultimate example of his failures, adding to their dynamic in The Lion King. If Taka had never become Scar, then he may have been the father to Sarabi’s cub. It adds a deeply personal level of hatred to Scar and Simba’s relationship in The Lion King.

Mufasa Is The Rare Truly Additive Prequel

Mufasa: The Lion King Brings New Layers To The Lion King

One of the hardest challenges faced by any prequel is to find ways to add to the original story when audiences know the ending before the film even begins. Mufasa: The Lion King can’t kill off any of the established characters or really do anything too extreme with them, as viewers are already aware of where they’ll be by the end of the story. To its credit, Mufasa: The Lion King does accomplish the deceptively tricky task of being adative to The Lion King franchise as a whole, with the further expansion of Taka’s evolution into Scar expanding the lore.

By giving Taka and Sarabi a deeper connection, their dynamic in The Lion King becomes more tragic. It also adds explanations for Taka’s growing hatred for Mufasa and builds up new reasons for Scar to detest Simba. These elements add new depth to the characters in the original film and give more personal explanations for the character motivations and relationships. While Mufasa: The Lion King does have some flaws, those additive elements highlight how the film’s expansion on the origins of Mufasa and Scar do fit into the grander story and fit alongside the established aspects of The Lion King.

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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.

Release Date

December 20, 2024

Director

Barry Jenkins

Writers

Jeff Nathanson
, Linda Woolverton
, Irene Mecchi
, Jonathan Roberts