--- title: The Lion King Director Confirms Mufasa and Scar Are Brothers description: The Lion King's director has come forward after much internet debate to confirm that Scar and Mufasa are indeed brothers. canonical: https://time.com/4920182/the-lion-king-mufasa-scar-brothers/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-29T17:29:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:46:53.647Z og:title: The Lion King Director Confirms Mufasa and Scar Are Brothers og:description: "I just want to clear that up." og:url: https://time.com/4920182/the-lion-king-mufasa-scar-brothers/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5efc60a30105de7b/6988dbb00a4a22f8229cfae9/lion-king-director-mufasa-scar-brothers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Disney Channel's "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar" og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Lion King Director Confirms Mufasa and Scar Are Brothers twitter:description: "I just want to clear that up." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5efc60a30105de7b/6988dbb00a4a22f8229cfae9/lion-king-director-mufasa-scar-brothers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # _The Lion King_ Director Confirms That Mufasa and Scar Are Totally Brothers > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f3b4ebb0-d97d-46c7-b596-0f4406f3391c&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 540,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 45.6% | TIME, August 2026 | | Click rate | 3.3% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=f3b4ebb0-d97d-46c7-b596-0f4406f3391c&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=f3b4ebb0-d97d-46c7-b596-0f4406f3391c&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It reaches 540,000 subscribers with a 45.6% open rate as of August 2026. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically.  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Aug 29, 2017 5:29 PM UTC  THE LION GUARD - "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar" - The epic storytelling of Disney's "The Lion King" continues with "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar," a primetime television movie event premiering SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22 (7:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel. (Photo by Disney Junior via Getty Images) THE LION GUARD - "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar" - The epic storytelling of Disney's "The Lion King" continues with "The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar," a primetime television movie event premiering SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22 (7:00 p.m., ET/PT) on Disney Channel. (Photo by Disney Junior via Getty Images)Disney Junior—Disney Channel via Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Aug 29, 2017 5:29 PM UTC A little over a week ago, the Internet was in a state of shock after a producer on [_The Lion King_](http://time.com/4511368/disney-lion-king-reboot/)revealed [_Hello Giggles_](http://hellogiggles.com/reviews-coverage/movies/lion-king-scar-mufasa-brothers/)ahead of the movie’s re-release on Blu-Ray and DVD that it wasn’t likely Mufasa and Scar had the same parents because of the way that lion prides work — generally, there’s one top male lion, which seems to be the rationale why Scar has a huge inferiority complex and kills Mufasa. However, distraught _Lion King_ fans everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that Mufasa and Scar are actually brothers, as confirmed by the director of _The Lion King_ himself, Rob Minkoff. In an interview with _Screen Junkies_, Minkoff reassured fans that these two jungle cats were definitely blood related. “They are \[brothers\]! I just want to clear that up,” Minkoff said, while stating that Scar and Mufasa would have grown up together. If you’re curious about more of the inner-workings of the bloodlines of _The Lion King_, you can watch his full interview below. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4920182/the-lion-king-mufasa-scar-brothers/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4920182/the-lion-king-mufasa-scar-brothers/"},"headline":"The Lion King Director Confirms That Mufasa and Scar Are Totally Brothers","datePublished":"2017-08-29T17:29:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:46:53.647Z","description":"\"I just want to clear that up.\"","url":"https://time.com/4920182/the-lion-king-mufasa-scar-brothers/","keywords":["Newsfeed","movies","viral"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5efc60a30105de7b/6988dbb00a4a22f8229cfae9/lion-king-director-mufasa-scar-brothers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Cady Lang","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/cady-lang/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5efc60a30105de7b/6988dbb00a4a22f8229cfae9/lion-king-director-mufasa-scar-brothers.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Disney Channel's \"The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar\"","caption":"Disney Channel's \"The Lion Guard: Return of the Roar\"","creditText":"Disney Junior—Disney Channel via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4920182/the-lion-king-mufasa-scar-brothers/","name":"The Lion King Director Confirms That Mufasa and Scar Are Totally Brothers"}}]}] ```