Warning: This article contains spoilers for Mufasa: The Lion King
Mufasa: The Lion King was one of the biggest movies of last year, telling the origin story of Mufasa and Scar as they become the royal family of the Pride Lands. The main thrust of Mufasa‘s story is centered around the rift that forms between the two main brothers. While they start as the best of friends, we knew going in that eventually, Scar betrays and kills Mufasa during the events of The Lion King. However, Mufasa also introduced new characters alongside the legacy inclusions, expanding the universe in a very natural way.
While Mufasa‘s reviews were fairly mixed, similarly to the previous The Lion King remake, the characters were the biggest positive to be found for most reviewers, which makes a lot of sense, as the characters are already beloved, and are simply having their roles in the universe expanded. However, one of the most interesting parts of Mufasa is the Outsiders, and though they were mostly dealt with by its ending, there are still plenty of questions to ask about their role throughout the Lion King franchise.
Mufasa: The Lion King Introduces White Lions As The Outsiders
The Outsiders Are Mufasa’s Main Antagonists
The Outsiders are the main antagonistic force of Mufasa, sending the main duo on their adventure after they attack Mufasa and Taka’s pride and kill their parents. They are a pride of outcast lions, who were shunned from their various original homes due to their white fur, and are generally very aggressive and domineering. During the first act of the film, two of the Outsiders attack Mufasa and Eshe, forcing him to kill one of them while the other escapes.
The group is led by Kiros, a white lion portrayed by Mads Mikkelsen, who spends the movie seeking revenge for his son — the lion that attacked and was killed by Mufasa. While Kiros and his pride could’ve ended up being pretty one-note antagonists, they are instrumental in Taka’s character arc as he begins to resent Mufasa. Unsurprisingly, Mikkelsen also brings a very fun energy to the role. They aren’t the greatest villains ever, as Kiros sometimes feels like a slightly less interesting version of the original animated Scar, but they serve the film well enough.
The Lion King Doesn’t Include Any White Lions
None Of The Outsiders Are Seen Or Mentioned In The Previous Film
While the Outsiders are very soundly defeated by the end of Mufasa, they clearly still exist in some form after the events of the film. While Kiros was very obviously killed, even though his body was never shown, the rest of his pride mostly just disappeared once their leader was gone, leaving their fates very ambiguous, though presumably at least some of them survived. Despite this, no Outsiders whatsoever appear in The Lion King, even though, realistically, they would probably still be around in some way.
The in-universe reason that they didn’t appear was likely that they just weren’t strong enough to attempt anything big, and didn’t want to risk their lives repeating Kiros’ mistake.
The main reason for this is obviously the fact that, when the original Lion King was made, the Outsiders hadn’t been thought of yet, so of course, they wouldn’t be there. The story is centrally focused on the main royal family of The Lion King‘s Pride Lands, and adding in a group of other lions wouldn’t add much to the movie, and would potentially take away from the plot. However, the in-universe reason that they didn’t appear was likely that they just weren’t strong enough to attempt anything big, and didn’t want to risk their lives repeating Kiros’ mistake.
Where Mufasa’s White Lions Are During The Lion King
The Outsiders Are Probably Still Lurking In The Background
While it is impossible to know exactly what the Outsiders were doing during the events of The Lion King, as they weren’t even mentioned at all, there are plenty of things that can be used to speculate on what happened to them between Mufasa and The Lion King. The Outsiders are actually a big part of The Lion King 2 animated film, which was released back in 1998 as a direct-to-video sequel to the original movie, where they are presented as Scar’s old pride who wants to ᴀssᴀssinate Simba and take control of the Pride Lands.
Kiara was the main character in The Lion King 2: Simba’s Pride, though her brother, seen in Mufasa, was not a part of that movie.
The Outsiders in Mufasa are almost certainly setup for The Lion King 2, which, while not officially confirmed, is essentially guaranteed to happen considering Disney’s recent film strategies. If that eventual sequel at least loosely follows the plot of the original animated sequel, then the Outsiders are likely just watching and waiting in the Outlands, as they are much weaker without Kiros. Simba’s daughter Kiara will likely take on a bigger role after the events of Mufasa: The Lion King, which will undoubtedly involve the Outsiders once again.
