The Original Plan For Simba In 'The Lion King' Will Literally Blow Your Mind

Alright, Disney stans, gather round so I can shake you to your mother heckin' cores. You're familiar with the mildly successful, not that impactful animated film The Lion King, right? Good. If you answered no, why are you here? Either way, if you grew up in the '90s, chances are you knew "Hakuna Matata" by heart, learned the art of sarcasm from a sassy lil' bird named Zazu, and found Scar to be the most detestable character to ever exist. It's true, we all remember his icky black mane, his eery green eyes, and his menacing personality. But what if I told you Scar almost had a very different storyline? I know, I'm shook, too, but it's true. Apparently, instead of having Simba run away after his father's death, The Lion King's original script called for Scar to raise his nephew after he kills Mufasa.

According to a conversation between the film's producer, Tom Schumacher, and the voice of Simba, Matthew Broderick, on The Lion King Signature Collection Blu-ray, the initial plan was for Scar to kill both Mufasa and Simba, until his scheme to become King went awry. Schumacher says,

The whole idea was that Simba didn't run off with Timon and Pumbaa. Scar was going to kill Simba the same time he kills Mufasa. He's holding Simba in his mouth, and he's about to break his neck. Everyone comes in and says, 'Oh my gosh, you saved him from the stampede!' And the idea was you [talking to Matthew Broderick] were gonna grow up with Scar and be the goof-off kid.

This isn't the first time we've heard of alternative plans for this generation-defining class. Indeed, The Lion King we cherish today is, like many films, drastically different from its initial concepts. It's been revealed that the original title for The Lion King was The King of The Jungle and the initial concept had to do with lions and baboons battling it out. In this version, Scar would've been the leader of the baboons, and Rafiki would've been a cheetah. Who knows what would've happened to Timon and Pumbaa, but, as despicable as Scar is in the version we have today, I still wouldn't change a thing.