History WhatCouldHaveBeen / TheLionKing

* Kiara was originally named Shani, which had multiple Swahili translations such as "curiosity," "novelty," "adventure" and "accident."
* Kiara originally had a brother named Chaka. Chaka was later scrapped and in later drafts, Kiara was shown to be Simba's only cub in the film. Kiara having a brother was later reused with Kion from ''The Lion Guard''.

* There were plans for Zazu (of all characters) to get a love interest in the film, but she was cut from the final product, presumably due to time constraints. Apparently, her name would have been Binti and she would have been voiced by Creator/JaneLeeves.

* The Elephant Graveyard scene had been very different than it was in the final film; Timon and Pumbaa, for whatever reason, would have been searching for the Lion King, Mufasa. Seeing the shadowy figure of a lion, they would have entered the Graveyard only to encounter Scar's hyena minions and later Scar himself, who is visibly annoyed at being mistaken for Mufasa. Ironically, the [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing2019 2019 remake]] would later feature a scene where the hyenas mistake Scar for Mufasa when he enters the graveyard.

* At one point, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" was going to be a comic number sung entirely by Timon and Pumbaa. This version was storyboarded and recorded. But eventually it was decided to make the song a straightforward romantic ballad after all, as Music/EltonJohn and Tim Rice had intended, with Timon and Pumbaa singing only the beginning and end.

** One of Simba and Nala's childhood friends was Daabi, an aardvark who spoke as though she had a permanent case of nasal congestion ({{justified}} in that she spoke out of an elongated snout).

* Creator/LiamNeeson, Creator/TimothyDalton, and Creator/SeanConnery were considered for the role of Mufasa before Creator/JamesEarlJones was cast.

** Creator/JamesCaan, Creator/RobertDuvall, Creator/MalcolmMcDowell, Creator/PatrickStewart[[note]]who was also considered for Zazu, at one point[[/note]], and Creator/RayLiotta were also considered for Scar before the casting of Irons.
* Creator/HelenMirren, Creator/VirginiaMcKenna, and Creator/VanessaRedgrave were considered for the role of Sarabi before [[Film/ComingToAmerica Madge Sinclair]] was cast.
* Creator/JohnCleese, Creator/TerryGilliam, Creator/EricIdle, Creator/TerryJones, Creator/MichaelPalin, [[Film/FourWeddingsAndAFuneral Simon Callow]], Creator/ChrisBarrie, [[Series/TheGoodies Tim Brooke-Taylor, Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie]], Creator/DavidJason, Creator/PeterCook, Creator/DudleyMoore, Creator/SpikeMilligan, [[Series/TheTwoRonnies Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett]] were considered for the part of Zazu before the casting of Creator/RowanAtkinson.

* Nuka in earlier concept art appeared to be a lot more intelligent, healthier, and devious than he was in the final product.

* The Elephant Graveyard scene had been very different than it was in the final film; Timon and Pumbaa, for whatever reason, would have been searching for the Lion King, Mufasa. Seeing the shadowy figure of a lion, they would have entered the Graveyard only to encounter Scar’s hyena minions and later Scar himself, who is visibly annoyed at being mistaken for Mufasa.

* Kiara was originally named Shani. Other potential names were Chaka and Aisha.
* Kiara originally had a twin brother named Chaka who was scrapped. Chaka was intended to be the cub shown at the end of the first film, however it was decided that he complicated the story and was dropped. Kiara having a brother was later reused with Kion from ''The Lion Guard''.
* Kovu's original name was Nunka. This was a misspelling/variant of "Nuka", which was instead given to his brother.
* Vitani's original name was Shetani.
* Zira's original name was "Bianca", but it was changed for not being Swahili.
* Kovu was originally Scar's biological cub with Zira instead of his adopted successor and the film was even more ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' based. This was changed when they realized that this made Kovu and Kiara KissingCousins.[[note]]This seems to have been a rather late change in the script, as several languages (Dutch, for example) still confirm Kovu to be Scar’s biological son.[[/note]]

* Mufasa's stint as Rafiki's SpiritAdvisor was originally planned to be much more obvious, with the former Lion King's ghost actively speaking to the shaman. Wisely realizing this might come across as [[{{Narm}} unintentionally hilarious]], or at least a breaking of the WillingSuspensionOfDisbelief, the directors decided to instead have all interactions between Rafiki and Mufasa symbolized by the blowing of the wind. This fact is later emphasized when the wind blows around Simba, just before he listens to Kiara and accepts the Outsiders back, and explains why he looks so happy and on the verge of tears at the end, even before he hears Mufasa say [[SoProudOfYou "Well done, my son."]]
* A line for Mufasa's spirit that's recorded by James Earl Jones as seen in [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyohyz/the Making of Featurette]] being: "You have let your family break apart, and in doing so, you have broken the Circle of Life!, it's not entirely known why this dialogue was scrapped, but it is likely because it was too similar to the original film.

* There was a scene where Timon and Pumbaa visit what Timon describes as an "oasis" (when it's really a dump) while looking for their dream home. It turns out they're right next to Mufasa and Simba during the scene where Mufasa describes the previous kings. The scene was removed because it slowed the movie down.

* A line for Mufasa's spirit that's recorded by James Earl Jones as seen in [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyohyz/the Making of Featurette]] being: "You have let your family break apart, and in doing so, you have broken the Circle of Life!, it's not entirely known why this dialogue was scrapped, it is likely because it was too similar to the original film.

* A line for Mufasa's spirit that's recorded by James Earl Jones as seen in [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xyohyz/the Making of Featurette]] being: "You have let your family break apart, and in doing so, you have broken the Circle of Life!", It's most likely cut out of the sequel because it would've been even worse as he scolds to Simba for what he had done after he banished Kovu from the Pride Lands and also, it was too similar to the first movie from 1994.

* Originally, the movie was actually going to end with Simba being the one thrown off the cliff during the final battle against Scar, who then starts laughing maniacally as the fire gradually burns him to death. Fortunately, it then turns out that Simba actually survived the fall.

* The final scene with Simba and Nala's newborn cub (no name or gender specified) was originally going to be longer, with some comedic business in which Timon presented a bug as a gift to the cub, only for the bug to fly away, and Rafiki anointed the cub with gourd juice and dust just like he anointed baby Simba, the dust making both the cub and adult Simba sneeze. This was ultimately pared down to just show the cub's presentation at the edge of Pride Rock.

* The story was originally known as ''King of the Jungle'' and the plot was far DarkerAndEdgier. It had a [[http://lionking.wikia.com/wiki/King_of_the_Jungle few variations]]. In early scripts the Pridelanders were called the Ndona pride. Scar was a rogue in at least one draft, but it was decided to make him Mufasa's brother as it made the film emotionally investing. One script was to be themed around a war between two prides of lions, [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride which would be the plot of the sequel a few years later]]. Scar was the leader of the "Mbala" pride, with Mufasa leading the "Ndona" pride. There was also a group of hyenas, led by Banagi (who later became Shenzi), who would have served as secondary antagonists. Kwashi was a baboon similar to Rafiki, though not as wacky. Noticeably it was much more violent and [[BrotherSisterIncest incest filled]] than the final product (a similar concept to this, albeit LighterAndSofter, was in the first DirectToVideo movie).

* Originally, the movie was actually going to end with [[spoiler:Simba being the one thrown off the cliff during the final battle against Scar, who then starts laughing maniacally as the fire gradually burns him to death. Fortunately, it then turns out that Simba actually survived the fall]].

[[caption-width-right:350:Concept art from ''King of the Jungle,'' which is a draft where Scar kills Mufasa by [[FamilyUnfriendlyViolence snapping his neck]].]]

* Creator/TimRice originally wanted Creator/RikMayall and Creator/AdrianEdmondson to voice either Timon and Pumbaa or the hyenas, as he was big fan of ''Series/{{Bottom}}''. They were both considered to voice Zazu.

* At one point, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" was going to be a comic number sung entirely by Timon and Pumbaa. This version was storyboarded and recorded. But eventually it was decided to make the song a straightforward romantic ballad after all, as Creator/EltonJohn and Tim Rice had intended, with Timon and Pumbaa singing only the beginning and end.