🏀Mufasa's Backstory Update Could Cause Massive Changes To Disney's Lion King Lore🏀
0Mufasa's Backstory Update Could Cause Massive Changes To Disney's Lion King Lore
Details about Mufasa's backstory in Mufasa: The Lion King signal massive changes to the lore surrounding Disney's celebrated franchise. Rather than follow up the CGI remake with a direct sequel that continues Simba's adventures, Disney is going back to the past with a story about Mufasa and Scar. As the title implies, Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King is expected to shine the spotlight on Mufasa as it explores his early days in the Pride Lands, long before the birth of his son.
Footage released from Disney's panel at CinemaCon 2024 provide a glimpse into what the studio intends to do with the highly-anticipated prequel to 2019's The Lion King. In combination with the "Circle of Life" song and scenery of a snowy mountain, the footage showed two lions, which are presumably Mufasa and Scar. Rafiki, whose voice could be heard in the background, offered a surprising description of Mufasa, "A lion was born without a drop of nobility in his blood. A lion that would change our lives forever." This line hints at what may be a retcon of Mufasa's past.
The idea that Mufasa was "born without a drop of nobility in his blood" is a surprising development, especially since it hardly goes hand-in-hand with what was established in the 1994 original. In the iconic animated classic, it was apparent that both Scar and Mufasa were part of a royal bloodline. This was heavily implied by the scene where Mufusa and Scar gaze at the sky together. According to Mufasa, his father once told him that he could look for guidance from "the great kings of the past," who now reside in the stars above. And as Mufasa says, he'll join them one day.
Mufasa being told that he can turn to the "the great kings of the past" strongly indicates that the purpose of his father's advice was to let him know that he has the kings that came before him that can help him figure out how he should carry out his duties. Based on this, not to mention Scar's sense of entitlement when it came to being king, go to show that the throne of Pride Rock was tied to their family. That made sense, considering that there was a great feeling of tradition when it came to Mufasa's reign in The Lion King, as if the animals of the region had been accustomed to his leadership and that of his descendants for generations.
Before Mufasa: The Lion King's teases about Mufasa's history, there was never much of a mystery as to how he acquired his role as the king. After all, it was easy to assume that he simply inherited it from a long line of kings. But in the continuity of the CGI remake and the prequel, it would seem that there was a more complicated reason for Mufasa's rise. If it's true that Mufasa wasn't raised to follow in his father's footsteps, much would have had to happen to put a young lion with no ties to the throne in a position to rule over all the Pride Lands. With that in mind, it stands to reason that this journey will be the driving force of the movie, which would make it a brand-new chapter in The Lion King mythos.