2019's The Lion King Hints There's Another Mufasa & Scar Prequel Story That Needs To Be Told

Warning! Spoilers for Mufasa: The Lion King ahead!

Mufasa: The Lion King dived into Mufasa and Scar’s past, but an essential part of their story was saved for another potential prequel movie. 2024’s new The Lion King story has changed just about everything audiences thought they knew about these tragic brothers. As it turns out, Mufasa and Scar’s connection isn’t biological at all, and their heartbreaking origins make Scar’s eventual betrayal all the more devistating. Still, Mufasa: The Lion King didn’t answer an important question posed by 2019’s The Lion King, leaving a significant story to be told down the line.

It has always been evident in The Lion King that an intriguing story is hidden away in Mufasa and Scar’s past. The big question Mufasa: The Lion King had to answer is what happened between these brothers that would lead one to murder the other. The 2024 movie effectively addressed this, revealing how Scar, originally called Taka, had rescued and taken Mufasa in as brother and felt ultimately betrayed by the lion when he fell in love with Sarabi. Still, a surprise of Mufasa: The Lion King is that Taka received his namesake “scar” saving Mufasa’s life—not while challenging his brother as 2019’s The Lion King implied.

Scar Confirmed He Challenged Mufasa To Be King In The Past In 2019’s The Lion King

Scar Said He Wouldn’t Dare Challenge Mufasa Again

While The Lion King never provided the details of Mufasa and Scar’s past outright, there were several hints within the story regarding what went wrong between them. It’s implied that Scar had always wanted to be king but consistently fell short compared to his larger and stronger brother. Near the beginning of 2019’s The Lion King, after Scar didn’t appear at the ceremony celebrating Simba’s birth, Mufasa angrily asked Scar whether he was challenging him. Scar responded with the line, “I would never dream of challenging you… again.” This clearly indicates that these brothers have fought in the past.

At one point or another in Mufasa and Scar’s past, the villainous lion must have challenged his brother’s position as king. However, as a weaker lion, Scar lost the fight—and it must have been a pretty terrible defeat if Scar determined that it wasn’t worth ever challenging Mufasa again. It has long been assumed that this fight is when Scar would have gotten his scar. There is a certain amount of poetry to this, which would be in keeping with the tragic story between The Lion King‘s royal brothers. However, Mufasa: The Lion King disproved this theory while leaving out this battle entirely.

Mufasa: The Lion King Does Not Feature Scar Challenging Mufasa

It Must Happen In The Years After Mufasa Became King

Scar looking alarmed and Mufasa looking regal in Mufasa: The Lion King
Custom image by Yailin Chacon

Since Scar said this intriguing line in 2019’s The Lion King, it was assumed that Mufasa: The Lion King would feature such a battle between brothers. It was all part of the prequel movie’s draw since Mufasa and Taka began their story together as close as they could possibly be. It seemed that the moment would finally come after Taka saw Mufasa with Sarabi, or perhaps when the White Lions officially made their attack. Of course, Mufasa: The Lion King diverted expectations when Taka instead defended his brother and received a gash across his eye from the villain Kiros.

After Taka fought by Mufasa’s side and the Pride Lands were established, the new lion king pardoned his brother and announced that “Scar” would always have a home there. However, his betrayal wasn’t forgotten. Scar seemed to accept this, thanking Mufasa and demonstrating remorse for his efforts to get his brother killed. However, The Lion King audiences know that this doesn’t last. Scar will eventually challenge Mufasa’s role as king and lose the fight so badly that he later turns to treachery and fratricide to elevate his status. Unfortunately, Mufasa: The Lion King leaves the next stage in Scar’s story out.

Scar Challenging Mufasa Could Support Another The Lion King Prequel Movie

Something Further Will Break Between These Brothers

Mufasa and Scar From The Lion King 2019
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon

While Mufasa: The Lion King provides answers regarding the start of Mufasa and Scar’s story, and The Lion King details the end, there is a great deal left unsaid about the middle. Once again, the existing stories heavily imply what happens in the gaps. Scar seems to accept his lot in life at the end of the 2024 prequel movie. It’s clear from the final battle between Mufasa and Kiros that, despite his anger, Taka can’t yet stand to see his brother killed at Mufasa: The Lion King‘s end. His love for Mufasa inspired Taka to be brave for the first time in his life, but we know this love will deteriorate.

His love for Mufasa inspired Taka to be brave for the first time in his life, but we know this love will deteriorate.

While audiences can fill in the gaps themselves and imagine Scar’s withering love for Mufasa over the years, there is certainly some room to again expand the story here. The Lion King franchise could dive into another prequel movie that explores the dynamic between Mufasa and Scar as the years roll. At a certain point, Scar’s resentment will grow, and he will eventually determine that he can no longer sit in Mufasa’s shadow. The “challenge” referenced in 2019’s The Lion King could finally be seen on screen, and it could be clear, once and for all, why Scar turned to murder in the end.

Did Mufasa Change The Original Intent Of Scar’s Line In The Lion King?

The Lion King Implied This Was How Scar Got His Scar

It seemed to be a given that Mufasa: The Lion King would feature Scar’s challenge against Mufasa and that this would be the moment the villainous lion would get the iconic wound across his eye. However, the 2024 prequel seemed specifically aimed at diverting audiences’ expectations. Disney was successful in this regard—Mufasa: The Lion King was full of surprises, but this depended heavily on the overt implications of The Lion King being retconned. It’s clear in 1994’s The Lion King that Mufasa and Scar are biological brothers, but the 2019 movie left the door open for the prequel movie’s changes.

In the original 1994 movie, Scar makes a comment about being at the “shallow end of the gene pool” in comparison to Mufasa’s “brute strength.” The 2019 movie altered this line, however, making a non-biological connection possible.

While Mufasa: The Lion King didn’t specifically contradict anything said in 2019’s The Lion King, it certainly seemed that Scar’s line about challenging Mufasa was meant to imply the origin of his scar. However, Mufasa: The Lion King effectively took a more interesting route. After all, who would have guessed that Scar received this wound while saving the life of the lion he famously murdered in The Lion King? This is an example of intent being retroactively changed for the better. Now, not only is Mufasa and Scar’s story more intriguing but there is room for it to be expanded even further into another movie.