How Mufasa: The Lion King Changed Scar’s Backstory
Mufasa: The Lion King might be named after the iconic character, but Mufasa isn’t the only one whose backstory the movie explores. Instead, the movie works as sort of a tale of the past told by Rafiki to Kiara, Simba’s daughter (voiced by Blue Ivy Carter). But of course, as Kiara learns the story of her grandfather, we also get the backstory on Scar, The Lion King’s big bad and a central figure in the story of this family.
In The Lion King Scar doesn’t just kill Mufasa, he also betrays Simba so he can rule the Pride Lands. In the movie’s climax, he and Simba come head-to-head after Scar reveals that he was the one who killed Mufasa—and though Simba initially spares his life, banishing him from the Pride Lands, after Scar attacks Simba, he ends up throwing him off Pride Rock. He survives the fall but is then mauled to death by the hyenas, who he betrayed.
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In Mufasa: The Lion King, we get an explanation of Mufasa’s life from childhood until he becomes the king of the Pride Lands, including his relationship with Scar ever since the two were young. And though the movie doesn’t exactly make Scar a good guy, it does present a sympathetic look at why he became the way he is, including how he got his scar in the first place.
But is Taka Scar in Mufasa: The Lion King? What’s the real story behind the Disney character? Here’s what we already knew and what the prequel tells us.
Is Taka Scar in Mufasa: The Lion King?
Taka is indeed Scar in Mufasa: The Lion King. The prequel is the first confirmation on-screen that Scar went by Taka long before his scar became his defining feature. It is, however, not the first time the name has appeared in The Lion King canon. In fact, around the time the movie was released, a book called The Lion King: Six New Adventures was also released. That book featured six short stories, the first one being”A Tale of Two Brothers.”
Most of the information from that short story ends up being canon in Mufasa: The Lion King and it makes sense, as that short story is the first one that reveals Scar’s real name was actually Taka. The story also focuses on Scar’s jealousy over Mufasa, a jealousy that would one day lead him to betray and kill his brother and try to blame it all on Simba. In the book, however, Taka’s scar is acquired in a very different way: he’s attacked by a water buffalo as he’s in the middle of a plan to hurt his family that ends up going wrong.
In Mufasa: The Lion King the fact that Taka and Scar are one isn’t established until the movie’s climax. Throughout the movie, Taka’s jealousy leads him to ally with Kiros and the Outsiders. He leads them to Milele, where Kiros nearly kills Mufasa. However, at the last moment, it’s Scar that saves him, leaping between them and giving him the scar we know him for. Even though in the prequel Mufasa and Scar aren’t actually brothers, as Mufasa is adopted, Scar can’t let him die that way, even after betraying him.
However, after the defeat, Mufasa is advised to banish Taka. Instead, Mufasa decides not to and Taka tells Mufasa he should refer to him as Scar, as punishment. It is then that Mufasa promises he will never utter Scar’s true name again. It is even more heartbreaking when we consider how their story will end in The Lion King. The two brothers once loved each other, as Mufasa: The Lion King established. That, however, will not be enough for Taka, now Scar, to make a different decision in the future.
