Mufasa: The Lion King Trailer Reveals Scar’s True Name & Returning Characters

Disney releases the full trailer for this December’s Mufasa: The Lion King. The upcoming live-action movie is a prequel to 2019’s Lion King and follows the origin story of the titular character, now voiced by Aaron Pierre, as well as his relationship with Scar, now voiced by Elvis‘ Kelvin Harrison Jr. In addition to the new stars, the ensemble Mufasa: The Lion King cast includes the returns of Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Kani, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Donald Glover.

With the movie’s release getting closer, Disney has unveiled a new trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King. Check it out below:

The trailer offers an exciting new look at the upcoming prequel and sequel to the 2019 hit, namely Mufasa’s journey from being an orphan to his eventual rise to being a king. The new footage also reveals the surprising lore expansion of Scar’s original name of Taka, as well as his family who would take the titular lion in as their own.

Mufasa: The Lion King Is Set To Make The Original Movie’s Twist More Heartbreaking

While the first teaser for the movie did tease the early days of their relationship, the new Mufasa: The Lion King trailer shows it’s taking an interesting approach to expanding the world of the classic Disney franchise. The biggest evolution is that of Mufasa and Taka’s relationship long before the latter becomes known as Scar, with the child version of the original villain actually saving the titular lion from being eaten by alligators. Though the original Lion King movie certainly showed Mufasa had a sense of love and care for his brother, Scar was always seen as a scheming figure.

By taking the time to further flesh out their relationship, Mufasa: The Lion King is actually on track to make the original movie’s twist of Scar killing his brother all the more heartbreaking. In exploring how the titular lion was able to find his sense of pride and honor through being raised by Scar’s parents, it can actually put this betrayal in a new context, as Mufasa being blindsided by who he thought was his family also nicely plays into director Barry Jenkins being inspired by The Godfather Part II‘s story structure.

The other interesting thing Mufasa: The Lion King could do with setting up the original movie’s twist is exploring how the titular lion’s rise to power actually led to Scar’s betrayal. As per the newest trailer, Taka is actually meant to be the heir to a kingdom, and while it’s unclear how exactly Mufasa will end up being the one to take this position, the prequel could not only show how this came to be, but also better explain Scar’s motivations for killing his brother, and as such make him a more complicated villain.

Source: Disney

Mufasa: The Lion King

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

Writers

Jeff Nathanson

Cast

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

Main Genre

Adventure

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