Disney's The Lion King 2 is currently in the works, but it also looks as though the film risks making a mistake with its portrayal of the infamous villain Scar. The 2019 remake of the 1994 animated original, The Lion King, was explosively popular, garnering old and new fans of different generations to see what a revamped, live-action version of Simba's classic story looked like. Of course, the king Mufasa's brother Scar was the clear-cut villain of both films, killing his brother to snatch his spot as king and convincing Simba to abandon his old life with a sense of weighty grief and guilt-riddled shame. How he is depicted is central to the story.
Now, a prequel to the remake is being crafted, and the approach sounds much different than past Lion King installments have seen. Young Mufasa and Scar were reported to have been cast for the film. Actor Aaron Pierre will voice the tragically betrayed king and Scar -- who originally goes by "Taka" in the movie -- will be brought to life by Kelvin Harrison Jr. Apparently, The Lion King 2 explores Scar and Mufasa's youth and how they got to the contentious place in their relationship that led to the latter's demise in the previous movie. The film certainly sounds promising and exciting, with well-known director Barry Jenkins praising its script, openly saying it blew him away and made him want to try his hand at a different kind of movie.
Since Scar will clearly be getting his own part in the origin story, the question arises as to whether or not he truly needs one. After all, fans already know a great deal about his character from the 1994 original and remake. He's undoubtedly a (not-so-)good, old-fashioned villain. In fact, there isn't really any room for moral ambiguity or nuance in regard to who his character is. He's so envious of Mufasa's position as the titular "lion king" that he's willing to kill him for it. Not only that but he's also willing to send his grieving nephew into a sort of self-imposed exile after having been manipulated into taking the blame for his father's death. Giving this classic Disney "bad guy" a backstory where some of his formative experiences can be fleshed out runs the risk of being overly empathetic toward Scar's character in The Lion King 2, to the point where his actions as an adult could be given a sort of implicit pass.
In the years since the original Lion King story, many artistic depictions of villains have become increasingly concerned with the messiness of life. As society becomes more and more progressive, most people have a better understanding of grey areas and nuance. It's widely recognized that, although many harmful actions are still inexcusable, some people simply never had a chance to become compassionate, well-adjusted individuals. Characters like Homelander from The Boys, Whiterose from Mr. Robot, and Disney's Maleficient -- among a slew of others -- are popular depictions of how boiling the entirety of someone's life and who they are as a person down to certain actions is unrealistic.
Even so, not every villain needs a backstory. Depending on how it's done, Scar might not either. Fans already know plenty about his nature, morals (or lack thereof), and some of his more heinous actions. The prequel's premise is an intriguing concept, and with Barry Jenkins' creative direction (he's had the semi-recent, beautiful cinematic gems Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk), it will undoubtedly be worth seeing. Even with Jenkins at the helm, The Lion King 2 should tread carefully with what kind of sympathy it works to elicit for the Taka version of Scar.
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