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Includes SPOILERS for Mufasa: The Lion King.

Simba and Nala reveal a new son at the end of Mufasa: The Lion King, expanding the franchise with a future protagonist. Picking up after the events of 2019's The Lion King movie, Mufasa sees Simba and Nala's daughter Kiara interacting with Timon, Pumbaa, and Rafiki. The elder mandrill shares the story of Mufasa's youth, depicting how the future king was separated from his parents at a young age and was raised alongside Taka, the lion later known as Scar. Mufasa's cast is also bolstered by Donald Glover and Beyoncé, who cameo as Simba and Nala.

Mufasa: The Lion King's story embraces one of the critical ideas of the original Disney masterpiece: the circle of life. Rafiki tells young Kiara the story of her grandfather, examining his journey from stray to king. By the movie's end, Mufasa discovers that his father has passed away, but he's built a new family along the way with his love for Sarabi. In the present day, Mufasa's ending shows Simba and Nala returning to Pride Rock, after Mufasa's grandson had been born at an oasis, continuing the circle.

Simba & Nala's New Child Is Likely Kion

Kion Is A Character From The Lion Guard Animated Show

Though the movie doesn't confirm the cub's name, leaving it up to future filmmakers and writers to decide what to do with the new son, it seems likely that they'd use the name of Simba and Nala's son from previous iterations. 1998's The Lion King II: Simba's Pride provided the baseline for Kiara, so it seems likely that Disney would follow suit, making their son Kion, a character from the animated series The Lion Guard. Though none of the expanded Lion King media was as popular as the original 1994 film, it seems like it's all being used for foundation.

The direct-to-video movies and TV spinoffs will continue to influence future Lion King movies. While Disney's plans going forward aren't known to the public, drawing from Simba's Pride and The Lion Guard could be a fantastic way to tell the stories of these two children. Especially following Kiara's excitement about having a newborn brother, her and Kion sharing a future story could be a way to mirror the Mufasa and Scar dynamic in a more positive and hopeful light.

Kion's The Lion King History Explained

Kion Leads The Lion Guard

Kion was first introduced in the animated series The Lion Guard, where he was the central character for the animated television spinoff. He's the youngest child of Simba and Nala and Kiara's younger brother, just as he's depicted in the films. He's the leader of a group called the Lion Guard, a team of animals with the goal of protecting the Pride Lands. They were originally led by a lion named Askari before Kion took charge of the order. Kion also marries a lioness named Rani.

Kion is able to commune with Mufasa, who becomes a guide for him as he grows to be a hero and king in his own right.

In an even more direct manner than how Kiara sees Mufasa's face in the clouds at the end of the new film, Kion is able to commune with Mufasa, who becomes a guide for him as he grows to be a hero and king in his own right. Kion is strong-willed and deeply principled, almost to a fault, with his personality stemming from the hope that he won't turn out like Scar. This makes it even more interesting that Kiara begins to tell him about Scar at the end of the movie, even though he's too young to understand it at this point.

What Kion's Birth Means For The Lion King's Future

Kion & Kiara Could Be The Franchise's Future Leads

Though Mufasa might not be the box office behemoth the 2019 Lion King movie was, it seems doubtful that Disney will give up on their plans to continue using the title. The introduction of Kion and the utilization of Kiara means that future Lion King movies will continue along with the present-day narrative, examining the types of leaders Simba and Nala's cubs grow to become. Disney has plenty of material from The Lion Guard and other media to adapt, and they'll likely keep pumping out spinoffs.

It'll be curious to see if they depict Kion becoming king in Simba's place or if they'll defer to Kiara as the franchise's new lead protagonist. Alternatively, them being a leading duo could be great, showing two siblings who might struggle to work together at first, though ultimately coming together. Mufasa: The Lion King is the first live-action animated Lion King spinoff, and it most likely won't be the last.