Mufasa: The Lion Kingaddresses a lot of elements from before the originalLion Kingmovie, including what happened to Mufasa’s parents. Theending ofMufasa: The Lion Kingsees the titular lion ascending into his role as the king of the Pride Lands after his prequel story is outlined. This coincides with a sequel story to the original 2019 film, with a new member ofMufasa and Simb’a family tree- Kiara - overcoming her fears as her brother is welcomed into the world.
However, despite flashes to the Pride Lands beyond Mufasa under Simba’s reign, the bulk of the film takes place before the original film. As such,Mufasa: The Lion Kingexplains detailsabout Simba’s time, some needed and others unnecessary, be it the formation of Pride Rock to the true reason Scar eventually betrays his brother.Mufasa: The Lion King’s cast of characterstakes the story through these events, with one mystery fromThe Lion Kingabout Mufasa’s parents also being a focus of the film.
Mufasa’s Father Died At An Unconfirmed Time
Between The Beginning & End Of The Film
InThe Lion King, Mufasa’s parents are not mentioned, begging the question of what became of them.Mufasa: The Lion Kingaddresses this as the film opens with the titular lion as a cub in the arid plains of Africa. Mufasa is shown to dream of the mythical realm of Milele alongside his mother, Afia, and his father, Masego. Shortly afterward, a tragedy strikes during the first flood Mufasa’s home has experienced in years, with the young cub being separated from his parents and finding a new guardian in the form of Taka’s mother, Eshe.
What Is Milele? The Origin Of Lion King’s Pride Lands Explained
The Swahili word Milele becomes important to the Mufasa prequel, connecting to the origin story of the Pride Lands in the The Lion King franchise.
In the film’s finale, Mufasa finds Milele, otherwise known as the Pride Lands, and reunites with Afia. Upon asking where his father is, however, Mufasa is told that Masego lives in him now. This implies thatMasego died during the events ofMufasa: The Lion King, but it is not specified exactly when. Masego seemingly survived the flood that separated him from Mufasa but given the long story of the film that contains lions with a smaller lifespan than humans, it makes sense that he would pass away before being reunited with his son.
Mufasa’s Mother Made It To Milele & Reunites With Her Son
Afia Lives On
As I have already alluded to,Mufasa: The Lion Kingconfirms a much nicer fate for Afia, Mufasa’s mother. Unlike Masego, Afia lived beyond the events of the flood and the time betweenMufasa: The Lion King’s beginning and ending. It is revealed that Afia continued to search for Milele, just as she always told her son to. Somehow, Afia made it from her home to Milele and reunited with Mufasa when he became the King of Pride Rock, complete with an adopted son given Mufasa and Scar’s brotherly relationship inThe Lion King.
Mufasa: The Lion Kingends with Afia joining the newfound family of the Pride Lands…
InMufasa: The Lion King’s final scene, it is Afia who tells Mufasa of Masego’s passing. Afia also says that she never stopped believing that she could one day be reunited with Mufasa. She says that she always dreamt of a reunion, citing Milele as the reason for making that dream a reality.Mufasa: The Lion Kingends with Afia joining the newfound family of the Pride Lands, alongside her son, Serabi, Rafiki, Zazu, and a treacherous Taka, who now goes by the name of Scar.
Mufasa’s Mother Seemingly Dies Before The Lion King
Afia Does Not Live To See Simba’s Reign
With the ending ofMufasa: The Lion Kingleaving the film off on a relatively happy note, some questions begin to present themselves about the original movie.The Lion Kingmakes no mention of where Mufasa came from, nor who his mother and father were, despiteMufasaending with the king reuniting with Afia. The reason for this is likely very simple: Afia seemingly passed away before the birth of Simba and the events ofThe Lion King. This is supported by what happened to Masego.
Masego seemingly passed on due to simple old age before reuniting with Mufasa, meaning Afia must be of a similar age. This implies that she was nearing the end of her lifespan during the final moments of the prequel. Given thatMufasa: The Lion King’s timelineplaces it at least five years beforeThe Lion King, it is logical that Afia died before Simba was born. This explains why Simba’s grandmother was not around to help raise him during the original film, as the Circle of Life caught up with her shortly afterMufasa: The Lion King.
How Mufasa: The Lion King Changes Mufasa’s Parents
Mufasa Receives A New Origin Story
What makes the story of Masego and Afia inMufasa: The Lion Kingeven more interesting is that the film altered previously establishedLion Kinglore. Initially, beforeDisney’s live-action remake movies, 1994’sThe Lion Kingalso left the topic of Mufasa and Scar’s parents relatively unexplored. However, that film was accompanied by a spin-off book titledA Tale of Two Brothers, which mentioned the history of the two and provided details about their parents.
A Tale of Two Brothersis where Scar’s real name, Taka, is first mentioned, a detail that is upheld inMufasa: The Lion King’s story.
In that book, Mufasa and Taka are described as biological brothers to their father, Ahadi, and their mother, Uru, which is changed considerably in the film. The book makes little mention of Uru, yet Ahadi is described as the King of the Pride Lands when the story begins, with Mufasa and Taka being the rightful heirs to the kingdom. Many assumed that this was the directionMufasa: The Lion Kingwould take upon the prequel film’s announcement, but it changes Mufasa’s parents, their history, their status, and thus, the titular lion’s connection to Taka/Scar.
The Lion King: Who Were Mufasa’s Parents?
The new live action prequel from Disney retconned some of the previously-established information about Mufasa’s parents in The Lion King franchise.
InMufasa: The Lion King, Mufasa’s parents are Masego and Afia as explored, two lions without nobility in their bloodline from a distant kingdom. Taka is of royalty - though not of the Pride Lands/Milele - and the son of Eshe and King Obasi, meaning the two are only brothers by bond rather than blood inMufasa: The Lion King.The changes to their history and Mufasa’s parents were made so that the titular lion could become a king born from nothing on merit and spirit alone, as opposed to being born as a prospective one.
At first, these changes were met with some criticism. Many deemed them too big a departure from what was established in the originalThe Lion King, especially given that Mufasa was not a noble by bloodline. That said, these changes allowedMufasa: The Lion Kingto explore a deeper familial connection between Mufasa and his parents, one that changed the course of the Pride Lands forever.
