49 Fun Facts About Mufasa: the Lion King

Which Best Picture winner did Barry Jenkins direct before making Mufasa: The Lion King?

Moonlight won Best Picture in 2017 only after La La Land had been read out by mistake. Jenkins later joked that the Moonlight director making a Disney tentpole seemed strange even to him.

Who is telling the story of Mufasa, and to whom?

Rafiki, to Simba's daughter Kiara: Timon and Pumbaa listen in as well and keep breaking into the story with wisecracks.

Which director made the 2019 remake of The Lion King that Mufasa: The Lion King follows?

Jon Favreau directed the 2019 remake but did not return, so Disney handed its follow-up to an indie filmmaker who had never made a blockbuster.

What separates the cub Mufasa from his parents, Masego and Afia?

A flash flood sweeps Mufasa away and seems to kill both parents, but his mother Afia survives and finds him again once he is king.

Which animals attack the lost cub Mufasa moments after he first meets Taka?

Crocodiles close in on the cub in the water just as the two meet; he gets out alive, and the brotherhood that follows ends in betrayal.

How does King Obasi decide whether the stray Mufasa may stay with his pride?

A race between the two cubs decides it, and Taka loses on purpose so that the stray can stay.

What is the name of the legendary oasis Mufasa dreams of as a cub?

Milele, Swahili for 'forever', sounds like a myth when his parents describe it, but Mufasa ends the film as its king and it becomes the Pride Lands.

Who is Kiros in Mufasa: The Lion King?

Leader of the white-lion Outsiders, Kiros wipes out King Obasi's pride and then hunts the two brothers all the way to the oasis.

Which Danish actor voices Kiros?

Mads Mikkelsen also sings in the role: Kiros gets the film's villain number, 'Bye Bye'.

Why do Mufasa and Taka flee King Obasi's pride?

To carry the royal bloodline elsewhere: Obasi sends his heir away with Mufasa sworn to protect him, then stays behind to face Kiros with the rest of the pride.

Which three characters join Mufasa and Taka on their journey to the oasis?

Sarabi, Zazu and a young Rafiki fall in with the brothers on the run, and Rafiki leads the way because his visions keep showing him a brother.

How does Sarabi help Mufasa's group escape the pursuing Outsiders?

She causes an elephant stampede by knocking a beehive into the herd, and Mufasa saves her from being trampled but lets his brother take the credit.

What makes Taka betray his brother to Kiros?

Jealousy over Sarabi loving Mufasa: Taka had confided his own feelings for her, so on seeing the pair together he goes to Kiros and offers to lead the Outsiders to them.

In Mufasa: The Lion King, how does Taka get his scar?

Kiros slashes him as he shields Mufasa: after leading the Outsiders to the oasis, a remorseful Taka throws himself between the two lions and takes the blow across his eye.

What natural disaster strikes the oasis during Mufasa's final battle with Kiros?

An earthquake splits the ground in mid-battle and leaves behind a newly formed Pride Rock, where Mufasa gives his first roar as king.

Why does Taka choose the name Scar?

So he never forgets what he has done: Mufasa lets his brother stay but vows never to say the name Taka again, and Taka offers 'Scar' himself.

What does Taka do when two white lions attack his mother during a hunt?

He runs away in fear while Mufasa stays, and the failure shames him in the eyes of his father, King Obasi.

Who voices the adult Mufasa?

Aaron Pierre plays him as a stray who never wanted a crown: this Mufasa is hesitant to rule until the animals of the oasis urge him to.

Whose archived voice opens Mufasa: The Lion King as a tribute?

James Earl Jones, the original Mufasa, died three months before release, so the film opens with his voice and a dedication to him.

Which actor returns from the 2019 remake to voice Pumbaa in Mufasa: The Lion King?

Seth Rogen is back as Pumbaa beside Billy Eichner's Timon, and the pair spend the film heckling from the sidelines.

Which real-life mother and daughter voice Nala and Kiara?

Beyoncé and her daughter Blue Ivy play Nala and Kiara; Barry Jenkins thought of Blue Ivy after hearing her narrate the audiobook of Hair Love.

Mufasa: The Lion King is both prequel and sequel, a structure early reports likened to which classic film?

The Godfather Part II follows young Vito Corleone's rise alongside his son Michael's reign, the parallel Deadline drew when the Lion King follow-up was announced in 2020.

Before Mufasa: The Lion King, which film made the young lioness Kiara its heroine?

The Lion King II: Simba's Pride, a 1998 straight-to-video sequel, has Kiara fall for Kovu, a lion from an exiled pride once loyal to Scar.

Who wrote the new songs for Mufasa: The Lion King?

Lin-Manuel Miranda began the songs at the start of 2022, straight after Encanto; Barry Jenkins had stayed in touch with him since nearly casting him in If Beale Street Could Talk.

Lebo M, back for Mufasa: The Lion King, sang the Zulu chant that opens which 1994 Lion King song?

Circle of Life opens with Lebo M's cry of 'Nants ingonyama'; three decades on, the South African composer returned to write and sing on the prequel's soundtrack.

Which Mufasa: The Lion King song was shortlisted for the Best Original Song Oscar but not nominated?

'Tell Me It's You' made the Academy's shortlist but not the final five; the soundtrack's real hit was the brothers' duet 'I Always Wanted a Brother', its most-streamed track.

Which composer's themes from the 1994 Lion King are reused in Mufasa, though he left the project before scoring it?

Hans Zimmer was announced for the prequel but dropped out, so Dave Metzger took sole score credit and wove in Zimmer themes such as 'King of Pride Rock'.

Why is the young Rafiki alone when he first meets Mufasa's group?

He was exiled by his troop for being unlike the rest, so he is heading for the oasis by himself when the lions fall in with him.

What unlikely terrain do Mufasa and his companions cross on their way to the oasis?

Snowy mountains give the film its most unexpected setting: the lions climb into the snow to hide from the Outsiders hunting them.

Barry Jenkins defended The Lion King as children's first taste of Shakespeare; which play is its story usually likened to?

Hamlet also turns on a prince whose uncle kills his father for the crown. Told he was too good for a 'soulless machine', Jenkins replied that there is nothing soulless about The Lion King.

What does King Obasi tell his son Taka is the mark of a great king?

Deceit: Obasi schools his heir in lies, a lesson that shapes the lion who becomes Scar.

Which film beat Mufasa to the top spot on their shared opening weekend?

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 won that weekend with about $60 million to Mufasa's $35 million, but Mufasa overtook it in their third weekend and far outgrossed it worldwide.

Where does King Obasi order the stray cub Mufasa to live?

Among the lionesses, a snub that backfires: Mufasa learns to hunt from Queen Eshe while the prince lazes with the males.

Which actor from the Walking Dead franchise voices King Obasi in Mufasa: The Lion King?

Lennie James, the franchise's Morgan Jones, plays Obasi as a king who fears outsiders, and the film proves him half right: the white lions he dreads do come, and they destroy his pride.

The first Mufasa: The Lion King trailer debuted in April 2024 on which US morning show?

Good Morning America had the exclusive: the show airs on ABC, a Disney-owned network, so the studio launched its trailer in-house.

Why are Simba and Nala away for most of Mufasa: The Lion King?

Their second cub is being born at a faraway oasis, so Timon and Pumbaa are left in charge at home.

Where does Mufasa's last fight with Kiros end?

In an underwater cave: a falling rock finishes Kiros, and Taka, tempted for a moment to let his brother drown, pulls him out instead.

What kind of primate is Rafiki, the mystic of Mufasa: The Lion King?

Mandrill: in the wild the species lives mainly in the rainforests of equatorial Africa, so a mandrill roaming the savanna with lions is Disney's invention.

What kind of animal is Timon, Pumbaa's wisecracking partner in Mufasa: The Lion King?

Meerkat: real ones live in burrow-sharing mobs of up to dozens, which makes Timon, with a warthog for his only company, the odd one out.

Before Mufasa: The Lion King, Barry Jenkins directed which acclaimed 2021 limited series?

The Underground Railroad shares more than a director with the prequel: Jenkins brought its cinematographer, James Laxton, and its editor, Joi McMillon, with him to Disney.

In Mufasa: The Lion King, what is Zazu's job before he serves the king?

Sarabi's scout is how Zazu starts out; only when Mufasa takes the throne does he become the king's fussy majordomo of the original story.

Who voices the young lion prince Taka in Mufasa: The Lion King?

Kelvin Harrison Jr. plays Taka from adoring brother to traitor, and he gets the film's bitterest solo, 'Brother Betrayed', at the moment the prince turns.

Which Westworld star voices Queen Eshe in Mufasa: The Lion King?

Thandiwe Newton's Eshe is the one who takes the lost cub in, against the wishes of her mate, King Obasi.

Which actress, already a Disney princess, voices Mufasa's mother Afia?

Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana in The Princess and the Frog, plays Afia, who is parted from her cub in the opening minutes and reappears only once he is king.

At which Hollywood venue did Mufasa: The Lion King hold its world premiere in December 2024?

Dolby Theatre, home of the Oscars, hosted the premiere on December 9, 2024, even though Disney's own showcase cinema, the El Capitan, stands directly across Hollywood Boulevard.

Mufasa: The Lion King moved to December 2024 into a release slot vacated by which Marvel film?

Thunderbolts* gave up December 20, 2024 and slipped to 2025 when the actors' strike reshuffled Disney's slate, so Mufasa left its July 2024 date for Christmas instead.

How does Taka secretly show the Outsiders the way to the oasis?

He leaves marks to follow, so the Outsiders reach the oasis close behind the travellers and the battle begins.

What does Mufasa do that makes Kiros swear revenge?

Kills his son: Mufasa is defending Queen Eshe from two attackers on a hunt, and the one who gets away carries the news back to Kiros.

Taka grows up to be Scar, voiced in the 2019 Lion King remake by which actor?

Chiwetel Ejiofor took over Scar from Jeremy Irons for the 2019 remake; the prequel then gave that villain a sympathetic youth as a prince who adores his brother.