Mufasa: The Lion King Trailer

The 1994 movie The Lion King was so successful it got two direct-to-video sequels, a Broadway musical, a "live-action" remake in 2019, various TV and video game adaptations, and now a prequel. Mufasa: The Lion King tells the story of Mufasa and Taka (who would later be known as Scar) as they grew up as inseparable brothers. We immediately learn that the two are not biologically related, which takes some of the sting out of the implied incest in the series. And these lions have facial expressions!

Mufasa: The Lion King seems to fall into the same trope as Malificent, Joker, and the Star Wars prequels, in that since audiences loved the villain, let's go back and explain why it's not their fault that they are evil. In this case, Taka was originally the heir to the "king" position in the pride. Such antihero stories are a break from the rigid white hat/black hat dichotomy of earlier stories, but when it happens over and over again, you have to consider whether we've swung too far in the opposite direction. Mufasa: The Lion King opens in theaters on December 20.