Mufasa: The Lion Kingintroduced the white lions, and these villains could mean a significant change for a potentialThe Lion King II: Simba’s Prideremake. Though the 2025 movie took theLion Kingfranchise in a different direction, there are hints throughoutMufasathat the animated movies of the 1990s are still on Disney’s mind. Mufasa and Scar’s story was completely unique, but Simba’s daughter, Kiara, was a character in 1998’sThe Lion Kinganimated sequel. What’s more, the villain Kiros seems to be connected toSimba’s Prideas well.
Kiros was awhite lion inMufasa: The Lion Kingand the leader of a pride made up of lions who looked like him. It’s ultimately revealed that these white lions had each belonged to different prides across the African continent but had been rejected by their families for their differences. It was for this reason that Kiros became determined to wipe out all the lion kings, and he set his sights on Taka and Mufasa. ThoughKiros was ultiamtely dealt with inMufasa: The Lion King,his “Outsider” pride lived on, banished from the newly established Pride Lands.
The Lion King 2’s Villains & Mufasa’s White Lions Are Both Known As Outsiders
Mufasa May Have Retconned The 1998 Villains
Kiros' white lion pride being called the Outsiders inMufasa: The Lion Kingis intriguing since this is what the villains of 1998’sThe Lion King II: Simba’s Pridewere called. Of course, the backstories of these characters are entirely different. In the animated movie,the Outsiders were lions who had been loyal to Scar when he usurped MufasainThe Lion King. After Simba became king, he banished the Outsiders to live in the shadows surrounding the Pride Lands. There, they lived in misery, waiting for their moment to strike back at Simba.
Though different, the Outsiders ofMufasa: The Lion Kingand those ofThe Lion King II: Simba’s Prideshare similarities. The white lions were also banished from the pride lands and treated as rejects even before that. The white lion Outsiders would have just as much reason to hate Mufasa’s line, so it may be that Disney intends its nextLion Kingmovie to make these villains one and the same.
The Lion King 2 Could Include White Lions As Villains To Build On Mufasa
There’s Room For This Story To Grow
Mufasa: The Lion Kingestablished severalfeatures ofThe Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, essentially leaving the door open for a CGI remake of this animated sequel. While it’s certainly possible that such a movie would feature the Outsiders that had been loyal to Scar, it would be a bit strange to have two unrelated villain groups with the same name in theLion Kingfranchise. Instead,Disney likely intends to replace the tawny Outsiders ofSimba’s Pridewith Kiros' white lion kin in the nextLion Kingmovie.
Mufasa: The Lion King perfectly set the stage for such a story, but we must wait and see if it actually happens.
This would be an intriguing change. The originalLion Kingsequel’s claim that lions had been loyal to Scar didn’t make much sense since we saw no evidence of this inThe Lion King. Of course, it was an easy enough thing to accept for a direct-to-video Disney sequel, but a major CGI remake ofThe Lion King IIwould need a far more solid continuity. The idea ofKiara falling in love with an Outsider descendant of the white lion Kiros makes a bit more sense.Mufasa: The Lion Kingperfectly set the stage for such a story, but we must wait and see if it actually happens.
