Mufasa stole one of his iconic Lion King lines from a villain

The following contains spoilers for Mufasa: The Lion King, now in theatersMufasa: The Lion King reveals that one of Mufasa's iconic lines was taken from a major villain. Mufasa: The Lion King delves into the titular lion's early days, long before he became ruler of the Pride Lands. This gives the film plenty of opportunities to retroactively seed the characters and events of The Lion Kinglike the evolution of the gentle Taka into the villainous Scar or how Mufasa fell in love with his eventual queen, Sarabi.

One of the most interesting additions to the film is Kiros, the dangerous white lion who served as a major threat to the animals before Mufasa managed to unite them. Kiros has a very personal reason for going after Mufasa, going beyond their conflicting views on power, building up to their massive duel in Mufasa: The Lion Kingis ending. Kiros is effectively everything Mufasa is not, a cruel and brutal despot in contrast to Mufasa's more noble approach to ruling. Notably, Mufasa took an idea from Kiros and turned it into one of his iconic approaches to ruling.

Kiros uses The Lion King's "Everything The Light Touches" line on Mufasa

Kiros openly wanted to rule “everything the light touches”

Mufasa: The Lion King reveals that the villain Kiros believed his kingdom would encompass “everything that light touches” long before Mufasa said the same thing to Simba. over the Pride Lands. Mufasa: The Lion King explores Mufasa's early days. The threat that united the animal kingdom behind him was Kiros, a ruthless white lion who harbored a deep hatred for Mufasa after the latter killed his son in a fight. However, even before this, Kiros was on a path of violence, targeting the other prides of lions in the area to cement his rule over the kingdom.

Kiros even tells other lions that he will control everything the light touches, highlighting his ambitions and his willingness to massacre dozens of innocent prides to achieve it. This is in stark contrast to Mufasa's motivations in the film's climax, which reveals that Mufasa was actually reluctant to take on the role of king. This willingness to relinquish power is why Mufasa is the perfect candidate for the position, leading to his respected tenure as monarch. However, this makes his decision to adopt the phrase when he's king more interesting, since Mufasa naturally subverts Kiros' motivations.

Why Mufasa would steal Kiros's description of the Pride Lands

Mufasa reverses Kiros' plans for a nobler purpose

In 2019 The Lion KingMufasa talks to a young Simba about how he will eventually take control of the Pride Lands as Mufasa's king, and that "everything the light touches" will be his kingdom after Mufasa's death. However, he quickly corrects Simba when he asks if this means the entire kingdom will belong to him.. Instead, Mufasa explains that the land “belongs to no one.” It is the king's responsibility to care for the lands and everyone the light touches. This is a direct inversion of Kiros' motivations, with Mufasa taking on philosophy as a noble purpose.

It's an interesting expansion of Mufasa's motivations in The Lion Kinghighlighting how seriously he took his responsibility as monarch. On the other hand, Kiros and Scar were driven by the power that the position gave them. Simba in turn follows his father's mindset and is seen in the opening song of Mufasa: The Lion King to have restored the Pride Lands as a home for the greater animal kingdom, without ego or ambition. It's an interesting way to turn one of The Lion Kingiconic lines in a crucial new aspect of Mufasa: The Lion Kingthematic connections with the previous film.