Scar (2019)


 * NOTE: This article is about the incarnation of Scar from the 2019 movie. The mainstream version can be found here: Scar (Disney).

"Long... live... the KING!!"

- Scar's most famous quote before murdering Mufasa. "This is MY KINGDOM!!! MY DESTINY!!"

- Scar battling against Simba.

Scar is the main antagonist of the 2019 CGI/live-action epic film The Lion King, a remake of the 1994 animated classic film. He is a lustful, envious, ambitious, and megalomaniacal African lion who acts as the temporary king of Pride Rock, as well as the brother of Mufasa and the uncle & arch-nemesis of Simba.

He was voiced by Chiwetel Ejiofor, who is known for portraying Baron Mordo in Doctor Strange, Luke in Children of Men, and Victor Sweet in Four Brothers.

Plotting against Mufasa and Simba
"Life's not fair, is it, my little friend? While some are born to feast, others spend their lives in the dark, begging for scraps."

- Scar's opening line. Scar first appeared talking to his prey and telling a mouse how unfair life is, since he lived his entire life in the dark and he deserved to rule the kingdom of Pride Rock. Zazu however interrupts and asks Scar angrily why he did not come to Mufasa's ceremony of Simba's birth. Scar tries to kill Zazu, but he abandons that idea as Mufasa arrives to his cave and makes an excuse that he did not remember the day of the ceremony. Mufasa tells him that Simba is one day going to be king of Pride Rock, and that he must obey Simba's orders by the time that he rules the lands.

While Mufasa is busying scouting the Pride Lands, Scar tells Simba to go back to his den as he is not a babysitter, thus showing some cold hatred towards the young cub. However, Simba told him that one day he is going to be the king of Pride Rock, much to Scar's disappointment. Scar sarcastically told Simba not to go towards the abandoned areas beneath the light, but he tempted Simba into going there by mentioning it is an elephant graveyard and that only the bravest lions go there. Simba goes to a voyage with Nala and they manage to enter and escape the Elephant Graveyard with Mufasa's help. Scar acknowledges that Simba is still alive, and goes to the Elephant Graveyard in order to convince the Hyena Clan (led by Shenzi, Kamari and Azizi) that they should be teaming up to kill Mufasa.

Taking Over the Pride Lands
Scar then meets the hyena clan at the graveyard. At first, they attempt to eat him as they thought that Scar is just another lion from the Pride Rock. Scar, however, reveals them his ambitious plans and promises that they shall get unlimited food, as their bellies are never empty. Scar eventually sets a trap for both Simba and Mufasa. He asks Simba to practice his roar in the middle of a valley, and he told Simba he would be back within the next few minutes, but in the meanwhile, he gave the hyenas a signal to roar at the wildebeests so they would run and cause a stampede. Simba almost gets killed or at least injured inside the stampede, but Scar calls Mufasa and Zazu for help. Scar orders Zazu to call the pride for help, just so he could force the pride into obeying their new king Scar. Mufasa arrives on time and puts Simba onto a rock, before he climbs up to ask Scar for help. Scar however grabs Mufasa's paws and shouts "Long live the king", before he scratches Mufasa on the face, thus causing him to fall down and get killed by the wildebeests.

Simba then finds Mufasa's corpse. Scar arrives and convinces Simba that he is responsible for the death of Mufasa. He orders Simba to run away and never return to Pride Rock. As the pride and the citizens of Pride Rock gather up together, Scar announces that because Mufasa and Simba are now dead, he shall be their king from now on. Scar then calls Sarabi for a meeting, and asks her to become his queen, and team up with him so the entire pride will obey him. Sarabi angrily stated that she will never be the queen of such a selfish and cruel lion. Scar gets upset, and out of anger and frustration, he announces that from now on the hyenas will hunt first and not leave the lions lots of food to eat afterwards. Because of this act of overhunting, the Pride Lands become scarce in food and water, eventually becoming a barren land, much to the other animals' distraught.

Final Fight and Death
"Scar: My friends... it will take some time but together we will build our army! Kamari: Friends, huh? I thought you said we were "revolting scavengers". Azizi: Yeah, and you wanted to kill us! Scar: No, no! Let me explain! I was trying to fool him! We will rule together! Shenzi: There is only one true thing you ever said, Scar..... a hyena's belly is never full."

- Scar's last words before the hyenas make him pay with his life for his betrayal. Eventually, a fully-grown Simba returns to Pride Rock, and with the help of Nala, Timon, Pumba and Zazu, the young warrior is ready to fight Scar for the throne. Scar tries to convince the pride that Simba was responsible for Mufasa's death, and asks Simba to tell his secret and admit to "the truth". Simba confirms that he is responsible for Mufasa's death. Scar then almost throws Simba into the fiery pit, but he then whispers to Simba that he killed Mufasa. Simba then realizes the actual truth, and manages to inform the lions about the truth that Scar is the actual murderer. This was confirmed when Sarabi stated that she overheard Scar taunting Simba about the way Mufasa looked before he died, which contradicts Scar's claim that he didn't get to the gorge in time. Realizing now that he's been exposed, Scar angrily orders the hyenas to kill the entire lion pride. The hyenas are however defeated, and Simba starts chasing after Scar, until Scar reaches a corner on top of a hill where he cannot jump due to the height. Simba tells Scar that he does not deserve to live. Scar tries to blame the hyenas for the incident and states that they are "revolting scavengers" and that he was going to kill them anyway. However, Simba knows that it's all lies, and that Scar used the hyenas just like he used Simba a long time ago.

Scar then asks if Simba is going to kill him to avenge Mufasa's death, to which Simba replies that he won't since he is not a murderer like him. Scar then asks Simba what he could do to make it up to him, to which Simba responds by coldly ordering Scar to run away from the Pride Lands and never return. Scar pretends to agree to that consequence, but instead he scratches some fire and causes it to spread on Simba's eyes. The two lions then fight for the throne of Pride Rock, with an angry Simba declaring that he won't let Scar win, only for an angry Scar to declare that it's his destiny to rule his kingdom whatever way he likes. Simba eventually manages to overpower Scar and throw him off the cliff.

Scar survives the fall and as he regains consciousness and gets up, the hyenas arrive to his presence. He tries to convince them that they should build a large army to take down Simba and the lion pride, but to his horror, they revealed that they overheard what he said about them to Simba and that they no longer serve him anymore. Scar initially begs for mercy, but Shenzi refuses by telling Scar that he was right about one thing: that a hyena's belly is never full. Realizing now that the hyenas have turned against him as they surround him, Scar angrily attempts to defend himself by fighting back, but he is quickly overwhelmed and screams in agonizing pain as he is mauled to death by the hyenas.

Appearance
Scar, in contrast to his animated counterpart, has a closer resemblance to Mufasa. He has dull gold fur and an emaciated frame separating him from the rest of the pride. He has a thin and pale mane until his regime over the Pridelands; by then, his mane is closer to the original's fuller black mane. As his name suggests, he has a long, thin, vertical scar over his left eye, a torn right ear and his body is covered in small nicks, bruises and scars. He also has amber eyes, a tan muzzle complete with a goatee and a dark stripe down his forehead.

Personality
Scar is an extremely manipulative, ruthless, determined, cruel, and sadistic lion who cares about nothing else than the throne and being on top of everyone else. He committed unspeakable crimes in order to achieve his goals. This version of Scar is arguably even more evil than the original, since he lusts Sarabi for himself and he desires to be every bit like Mufasa, but does the opposite. He is also shown to be a little braver in nature than his original counterpart as he was willing to fight back against his enemies if necessary; he even briefly tried to fight back against the hyenas when they turned against him.

Trivia

 * Unlike other live action remakes of other Disney villains, this Scar is basically same version as his animated counterpart. However, there are certain differences between the two versions:
 * In the cartoon, Scar's motivation to become king was because he was upset when Mufasa was chosen by their father to become king. In the live-action film, Scar's motivation was to have Sarabi for himself because she chose Mufasa when they were young, and it was implied that Scar fought against Mufasa for Sarabi's affections and lost; even his voice actor Chiwetel Ejiofor stated that the Scar in the live-action film is far more 'psychologically possessed' and 'brutalized' than the cartoon one for this reason.
 * In the cartoon, it was told that Scar got his scar after being attacked by a large buffalo (according to the book "A Tale of Two Brothers"). In the live-action film, it was implied that Mufasa gave him the scar during their fight over for Sarabi's affections, which made it clear why Scar had done the same to Mufasa when pushing him to his death in the gorge.
 * In the cartoon, Scar was friends with the hyenas, but neglected them by leaving them and the lions to do the hunting tasks for him due to his laziness, which made the hyenas question his reign (due to shortage of food and water) and contribute to his downfall. In the live-action film, he wasn't friends with the hyenas as he first met them in the graveyard, but made good on his promise for them by personally overseeing hunts for them after taking over Pride Rock, which has allowed him to earn the hyenas' genuine loyalty until the end.
 * In the cartoon, Scar was too cowardly to do anything if cornered; this was shown when he begged for mercy when the hyenas turned against him and mauled him to death. In the live-action film, he shows little to no fear as he was willing to defend himself against danger if necessary; this was shown when he briefly tried to fight back against the hyenas before his death.
 * His physical appearance is similar to that of Zira (such as having a notch in his righ ear), the main antagonist of The Lion King 2: Simba's Pride.