Notice! Spoilers for Mufasa: The Lion King ahead!
Mufasa: The Lion King told the story of Mufasa and Scar's past, but the film itself confirmed that there are other The Lion King stories worth telling. This franchise started in 1994 The Lion Kingwhich saw Simba defend his kingdom from the uncle who murdered his father, Mufasa. Now, the new 2024 film is a sequel and prequel in one, connecting the events of Simba's future with the fateful decisions of Mufasa's past. It's certainly an intriguing story that needed to be told. However, Mufasa: The Lion King can point out precisely why this wasn't the best next step for the franchise.
Mufasa and Scar's origin is a story within a story in Mufasa: The Lion King. The film begins with Simba and Nala planning to have another cub, and their daughter Kiara is left at Pride Rock in the care of Timon, Pumbaa and Rafiki. To comfort the princess while she waited for her parents to return, Rafiki began telling Kiara about how her grandfather, Mufasa, became king and how and why he found courage. From then on, Mphew: The Lion King I jumped between the past and the present like Rafiki this story, but Timon and Pumbaa seemed to believe there were better stories to tell.
Timon and Pumbaa confirm that there are more stories with all the Lion King characters to tell
Timon and Pumba teased more recent adventures
Timon and Pumba once again served as comic relief for Mufasa: The Lion Kingand each time the film returned to these characters in the present, they had a lot to say. One of their repeated complaints was that Rafiki's story did not include them. At one point, Timão even mentioned that there are "many stories with all of us" indicating that Rafiki should tell one of these to Kiara.
Although this was just a joke, Timon's words reflected a common grievance that led to the release of Mufasa: The Lion King-tits prequel story didn't contain enough The Lion Kingadorable characters. Certainly, there were other adventures that Disney could have explored within the Lion King universe that would have been a cohesive continuation of Simba's original story. This would have allowed the first photorealistic CGI sequence to include more of Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumbaa and more that were unnecessary in Mufasa: The Lion King.
The inclusion of Timon and Pumbaa proves Disney thought Mufasa needed more Lion King characters
Mufasa: The Lion King changed its format to include more characters
Although Disney chose to delve into the past with its first sequel of 2019 The Lion Kingthe writers of Mufasa clearly agreed that the story needed more fan-favorite original characters from the franchise. It's exactly for this reason that the film was framed the way it was, with Rafiki, Timon, and Pumbaa telling the story of Kiara Mufasa, rather than the entire film taking place in the past, like a traditional prequel. Mufasa and Scar's origin story didn't really need Timon and Pumbaa, but Disney must have known that such characters would be sorely missed. So they were worked on.
Mufasa and Scar's origin story didn't really need Timon and Pumbaa, but Disney must have known that such characters would be sorely missed.
The same is more or less true of Kiara, a character introduced in the 1998 animated sequel. The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. While it was interesting to see how Mufasa's legacy connected to future generations of his bloodline, Kiara's little adventure in overcoming her fears didn't mean much in the grand scheme of the story. It appears, instead, that Disney launched the character of Kiara for those who loved her 1998 filmthat the CGI The Lion King franchise has clearly been replaced.
Disney should have prioritized other Lion King films over Mufasa
First CGI Sequel Could Organically Contain More Familiar Characters
There is no doubt that Mufasa: The Lion King told an intriguing story that needed to be brought to the screen. However, after the success of 2019 The Lion KingIt might have been better if Disney prioritized some of the other Simba stories. This is especially evident because the House of Mouse clearly understood that audiences wanted to see more characters like Simon and Pumbaa or wanted to see Kiara brought to the screen in CGI. Instead of squeezing them into a story they didn't belong in, a sequel could have explored its own organic stories.
The most obvious choice would have been a photorealistic CGI version of the The Lion King II: Simba's Pride. This direct-to-video sequel from 1994 The Lion King It wouldn't necessarily need to be adapted line-for-line like the 2019 film. Still, it would have been fun to see a true sequel revolving around Kiara and her romantic troubles with the strange Kovu in some way. From there, Disney would have been free to expand further and it would have seemed less natural to leave out characters like Timon and Pumbaa. Of course, Mufasa: The Lion King I didn't follow that path. Still, there may be hope for more stories in the future.