20 Recent Movie Twists That Fell Completely Flat
8. Mufasa - Why Scar Turned Evil
Scar is one of the best Disney villains ever. Brilliantly voiced by Jeremy Irons, Scar is a charismatic, sinister and horrifyingly cruel monster who does some of the evilest things ever witnessed in a Disney movie... but that's the original version.
In 2019's Lion King remake, Scar had already been neutered and instead of learning from past mistakes, 2024's prequel/sequel doubled down. This flick explored Mufasa's backstory and also featured a young Scar (now voiced by Kelvin Harrison Jr) and gave him a backstory too... a backstory that left fans seething with rage. And in this particular case they were right to be mad.
So, one of the most frightening Disney villains turned evil... because of a crush. He betrays Mufasa (Aaron Pierre), his adoptive brother, because the lioness he fancies goes for Mufasa instead. Seriously?!
The Disney live-action remakes have made their share of poor adaptational choices, but making the young Scar into a such a petty and immature figure who didn't remotely resemble the character he would later become? That might just be the worst one yet.
The film itself is actually OK, and not nearly as bad as its predecessor, but this creative choice was so misjudged that it has cast a shadow over the whole venture.