‘Ozempic hit the safari???’: Mufasa’s one hungry lion in newly released ‘The Lion King’ photos

An image from Mufasa: The Lion King, expected in theaters Dec. 20, has been released, and some online noticed that in it, Mufasa, the supposed king of beasts, looks a little different than how they remembered him.

For those who don’t know, Mufasa is a Lion King prequel, telling the story of Mufasa’s rise to power. In the 1994 classic, Mufasa is a svelte, muscular, feline monarch in the wild. But in the image released online, at least, Mufasa looks thin and bony, and some wondered if the future king of beasts had partaken in Hollywood’s trendy weight loss drug of choice.

Some actors lose weight for parts, but this is ridiculous

Amid rumors that every slimmed-down A-lister on the red carpet is on Ozempic, one X post joked whether the same could be said for Mufasa because, in this promo image, the formerly majestic lion looks like he skipped a few lunches. Mufasa is a prequel, so one explanation could be that the younger Mufasa needs time to fill out. Ozempic is a diabetes treatment drug with a weight loss side effect, but it is not FDA-approved for that purpose. Still, many suspect Ozempic is responsible whenever a famous person loses weight.

Though the upcoming Mufasa movie is “photo-realistically animated,” we agree this image doesn’t convey the majestic Mufasa we remember from childhood. Or, as one X comment explained,

Meanwhile, one comment said another drug could be responsible for Mufasa’s look. It could be Ozempic, the comment said, but also ” … cannabis cause they look high AF🤣.” Everyone knows Hollywood has unreasonable beauty standards. Or as one comment put it, “Unrealistic beauty standards has hit safari I fear 😭😭.” But life on the safari is tough, so instead of a weight loss treatment, maybe Mufasa is hungry. See below:

But what about “Lion King” lore?

In the interest of accurate reporting, we checked the Mufasa trailer, and Mufasa looks fine, so the still image shared online could be an outlier. There is a more pressing matter, though. As a Reddit post noticed, in the original movie, Mufasa tells Simba, “Let me tell you something my father told me. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars. So whenever you feel alone, just [remember] that those kings will be there to guide you and so will I,” implying Mufasa is of royal lineage.

The trailer, though, as the Redditor noticed, says Mufasa is adopted. In Star Wars, Rey was supposedly “no one,” but she ended up Palpatine’s granddaughter. Is there a similar Disney switcheroo afoot? Moreover, this changes Liong King baddie Scar’s story, if Mufasa is indeed adopted and not of royal blood. As this comment noted, “Mufasa is not royal blood, he is adopted, by every right scar should have been king, throne was literally stolen from him.”

With Mufasa’s family line well established in side stories and picture books from the `90s, more so than Mufasa’s trim physique, the implication that he was adopted into royalty has fans worried. “I was literally thinking about this, like Mufasa’s father is Ahadi and his grandfather is Mohatu ?? Like he comes from a line of established kings, why toss that out,” a comment said.