Queen’s Brian May Thinks Bohemian Rhapsody Was Treated Poorly During Awards Season

Queen’s Brian May Thinks Bohemian Rhapsody Was Treated Poorly During Awards Season

Bohemian Rhapsody has mostly had a charmed awards season after its release in November of 2018, likely propelled along by the fact that Queen band members Brian May and Roger Taylor were actively involved in the press leading up to the release of the flick and the awards season that came after. While Brian May was actively engaged in Bohemian Rhapsody and its success, he recently revealed that the negativity from the media took a toll on him.

The actor was very blunt in his concerns about the way the awards season race is run, although he was also quick to point out that he is grateful Bohemian Rhapsody was in the conversation at all this awards season. In a lengthy post, May revealed how he felt about the long ride to the Oscars, noting:

I was, and I am, deeply grateful for our Freddie film being recognised in a way we never had the audacity to expect. But I found the public activity behind the whole awards season, and the behaviour of the media writers surrounding it, deeply disturbing. If you look at the Press and Internet discussions that took place over the last few months, you can see that 90% of it is aimed at discrediting one or other, or all of the nominated films by innuendo and smears, rather than discussing their merits and admiring the skills that went into making them. Vitriol and dishonesty, and blatant attempts to shame and influence the members into voting the way they, in their arrogance required them to.

Bohemian Rhapsody, despite being the lowest rated Golden Globes winner since Out Of Africa, stood up well against the naysayers during the latest awards season. The movie went on to win numerous accolades – most notably for Rami Malek’s performance—and even took home four statues at the recent 2019 Oscars event.

The Full List Of Oscar Winners 2019, See The Complete List.

During the Oscars, a performance from Queen + Adam Lambert really got the event off to a rocking start, and both Brian May and Roger Taylor seemed into being at the event. Apparently, that joy at performing was tempered a bit for Brian May, who revealed on Instagram that the politics and news noise surrounding awards season took a great toll.

It’s not the fault of the awards panels - they stood up well. It’s a kind of vindictive sickness that seems to have gripped public life. All through it, I’ve been biting my tongue, not wishing to influence the results of the ballots even by a hair. But, when the curtain came down, I was left with very mixed feelings

What Happened Leading Up To The Oscars

Both Green Book and Bohemian Rhapsody had to suffer through months of people complaining about how the movies didn’t fully stick to factual details concerning the real-life individuals the movie followed. For Green Book, this meant Dr. Donald Shirley was not portrayed accurately. For Bohemian Rhapsody, the focus was less on Freddie Mercury’s personal life than some would have preferred. In addition, some people were unhappy with timeline changes.

Of course, the differing takes surrounding Brian Singer’s exit from Bohemian Rhapsody, although he retained a director credit, took up some time as well.

On the bright side, Brian May did reveal after he performed at the Oscars that there was a bright spot that came from one of the people putting together the event. He mentioned of the Oscars,

The head of local production came up to me and shook my hand as we left the auditorium. He said, ‘I’ve been doing the Oscars for 40 years, and that was the best opening we ever had!’ A lovely moment.

Shortly before the Oscars aired, Brian May and Roger Taylor reacted to performing, with May noting he was ready to “make [Oscars people] proud.”

What Brian May Has Said When He Has Spoken On The Topic Before

This isn’t the first time that Brian May has spoken out regarding a lot of the criticism that Bohemian Rhapsody faced after its release. He previously said of the criticism that it has been steeped in “similar jealous righteousness” to what Queen faced when the band was producing new music. Ending on a positive note, he also said:

My feeling is … that on the whole, between Graham, and Fox, and the whole team — including DoP, Editor, Sound, crews, extras, and us — we made the right film. It makes me happy to see the fine work done by our team recognized, as it has been.

Bohemian Rhapsody may not have endeared itself to every critic out there, but at the end of the day, it certainly endeared itself to a wide swath of fans. The movie made a boatload of money worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing musical biopic at the box office ever. It's also already available on home entertainment, and was the #1 debut in those sales during its first week of release in February.

It's one of several movies this awards season that were more populist winners and went on to do quite well at the box office, including Black Panther and A Star Is Born, as well. We'll have to wait and see if this ends up being a pattern during awards season or if indie darlings will end up being the main contenders once more.

Bond 25 Production Suspended After Daniel Craig Suffers Injury

Bond 25 Production Suspended After Daniel Craig Suffers Injury

Production on the as-yet-untitled James Bond 25 has reached a standstill as lead actor Daniel Craig apparently has injured himself badly on set and needs time to recover.

Daniel Craig and the rest of the cast and crew for Bond 25 were in Jamaica filming scenes for the upcoming 007 thriller, due to reach theaters in 2020. According to The Sun, Craig slipped while running in his signature Bond suit, and he fell awkwardly, causing himself an enormous amount of pain. It’s believed that Craig injured his ankle while running, and the actor was flown to the States for X-rays to determine the extent of the damage.

According to the report, Daniel Craig was filming one of his last scenes in Jamaica, with filming set to resume in London’s Pinewood Studios afterward. For the time being, that schedule has been put on hold as the crew decides what to do next. The Sun notes that production bosses hope that Craig’s injury doesn’t cause a long delay.

Daniel Craig has been recognized as the more physical James Bond from the moment he joined the franchise in 2006’s Casino Royale, and he has endured his fair share of bumps, bruises and bodily harms as a result of playing 007. As is documented in The Sun, Craig lost two teeth after absorbing a blow to the face while filming his first-ever stunt scene as 007.

Since then, Craig also has suffered a muscle tear while filming Quantum of Solace (during which he also sliced off the tip of a finger), and sustained a serious knee injury while filming a fight scene for Spectre, which caused production to shut down for weeks.

Who is on set telling Daniel Craig to slow it down a tad? Maybe the studio needs to hire a coach who encourages Craig to give the stunt guy more work? Granted, without Craig in the role, we wouldn’t get memorable action set pieces like this:

But does Daniel Craig still feel like this physical pain is worth it? The 51-year-old actor hemmed and hawed about returning to 007 in the press, leading to rampant speculation that he’d be replaced by an alternate Bond. Even now though it hasn’t been officially stated by anyone, many seem to believe that Bond 25 will be Craig’s final turn in the tuxedo, and on-set injuries probably help convince him to hang it up.

Cary Fukunaga directs Bond 25, with a story we know very little about. The cast was in Jamaica to announce the start of production, knowing that the location has a lot of personal and professional connections to author Ian Fleming and the Bond movie series, as a whole.

We’ll see how Daniel Craig fell when Bond 25 opens in theaters on April 8, 2020.

How Marvel Movies Are Affected By The Russo Brothers' Bold Plot Moves

How Marvel Movies Are Affected By The Russo Brothers' Bold Plot Moves

Joe and Anthony Russo have made three films for Marvel Studios prior to Avengers: Endgame, and each time out they have done something to totally upend the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it. Working alongside screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, they’ve exposed S.H.I.E.L.D. as a corrupt institution, broke up the Avengers, and killed half of all living things. It’s a pretty shocking legacy to have, but according to the directors, it’s all part of the role they see themselves have as storytellers.

Each time out the Russos have taken some big swings with beloved characters and aspects of the popular franchise, and it all links back to an approach that tries to shake things up and leave the world in a different place than where it was when they started. This was a subject that came up during my recent interview with the filmmakers prior to the release of Avengers: Endgame, and as I learned from Anthony Russo, it’s all about forward progress:

We look at it as our challenge. How do we construct a narrative that actually pushes these characters into those places? How does Captain America travel that road? How do we create circumstances where you're going to believably see him behaving in new ways as the movies go on? Because that's the key to the longevity. We want to see these movies go on forever. We love them. But the only way to really do that is to keep finding new colors to bring to the surface.

Simply put, the Marvel Cinematic Universe doesn’t get to make 22 successful movies unless each one is bringing something new to the table, and one of the best ways to get that done is by having a story introduce a bombshell that totally changes the face of things as we know it.

This is something at which the Russos see themselves as being particularly skilled, and it’s been a part of their work for years – even before they started making Marvel blockbusters. As Joe Russo noted, it’s also something that’s very much present in their television work – specifically the two much-loved and metatextual comedy series that they helped bring to life:

We lined up very well with where we came into the Marvel Universe because we're disruptors, and we like to make disruptive choices and deconstruct. Go look at Arrested Development or Community. They're both deconstruction of shows. And everything we've done with the Marvel universe is deconstruct because we're interested in what happens post-deconstruction. Those are the things that are most compelling to us. And so getting to make each movie after we deconstruct something, we tend to use that next movie to examine the deconstruction.

This approach has led them to tell stories within the continuity that leave the Marvel Universe in precarious positions, but it’s really all part of the plan. According to the directors, writing themselves into a corner is actually something that they do on purpose, as it ultimately allows them to really flex their creative muscles as they try and find the best way for their characters to get out of impossible situations and scenarios.

This has also never been a challenge that they’ve shirked from, as each one of their Marvel movies have had a significant effect on the next. The fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. in Captain America: The Winter Soldier led to its titular character being unable to trust authority, and that eventually fed the central conflict featured in Captain America: Civil War. This led to the members of the Avengers no longer trusting each other, and because they were divided they got their asses kicked by Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. Now in Avengers: Endgame the heroes have to pick up the pieces and do what they can to right the horrific wrong that has led to trillions of deaths around the universe.

As Joe and Anthony Russo explained, these endings not only carry significant emotional weight, but force the heroes to change in ways that they otherwise wouldn’t:

Anthony Russo: The ending of that movie, it's a difficult ending, the ending of Infinity War, and it's really important for us to double down on that and commit to that, and figure out how does someone move forward from a moment like that? How do these heroes move forward from a moment like that? That's the story that we want to know.

Joe Russo: They lost.

Anthony Russo: Exactly. And that's a real experience. So we wanted to give that its due.

Joe Russo: It was a unique opportunity for us in Infinity War, which is an exceedingly expensive movie, and we had a studio very supportive of us killing half the characters at the end of the movie. That as filmmakers is a really rare opportunity, and we wanted to take advantage of that opportunity.

Of course, the choices that are being made aren’t entirely insular, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe at large is made up of multiple filmmakers telling a wide variety of stories with these shared characters. You’d think that this would make the kind of big swings the Russos are interested in executing a challenge to sell, but as Anthony Russo explains, what plays a significant role is the fact that they have the full support of Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. And when you have someone in that kind of position backing your creative moves, you can be bold:

I think that's part of the magic of what Kevin Feige can do, is that he understands the importance of giving every movie the freedom to do those things. Because if you don't you're shackling what the narrative can do, or where it can go. And I think why we've done four movies with Marvel is because we've had that freedom; we've had the freedom to go to surprising, shocking, even problematic for the studio places with the storytelling, and Kevin gets fed off of that. He knows that that's part of the vitality of surprising audiences, and for as complicated as it may be on a business level, on a creative level, that's all that matters.

You can hear Joe and Anthony Russo discuss their big moves in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as other subjects, by watching my full interview with the directors below:

All of the work the Russos have done in the last five years has led to Avengers: Endgame, and now audiences worldwide can experience the capstone for themselves – as the film is now playing in theaters worldwide. Be sure to not only check it out this weekend, but also stay tuned here on CinemaBlend for a whole lot more of our Marvel Cinematic Universe coverage.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Trailer Is Surprisingly Light And Keeps Charles Manson In The Background

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Trailer Is Surprisingly Light And Keeps Charles Manson In The Background

There are few filmmakers quite as iconic and sometimes infamous as Quentin Tarantino. His projects push the boundaries of the industry, and often include over the top violence, cursing, and all-star casts. Tarantino has teased that he's only planning on producing ten movies, with his ninth being the mysterious 1969 set Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

Moviegoers have been eager to see the first glimpse of the upcoming film, and now the first trailer has finally arrived. Check out Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, although don't expect the Manson Family to take center stage.

Is anyone else's head spinning? Once again Quentin Tarantino defies expectations, and is bringing a movie that is wholly unique to theaters. While originally announced to be focused on Sharon Tate and the Manson Murders, it later became clear that those were only one aspect of the greater film. Because in the end, it's going to be focused on Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio's characters.

The Once Upon A Time In Hollywood trailer opens up with its pair of lead actors. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Rick Dalton, a Western actor who is trying to make his transition to the film world. But he can't do it without Brad Pitt's Cliff Booth-- his stunt double and best friend. The dynamic duo have a hilarious exchange involving carrying Leo's "load", highlighting that Quentin Tarantino wry sense of humor.

Margot Robbie is the next actor to dominate the frame, debuting her version of ill-fated actress Sharon Tate. Robbie looks spot on as the late actress and model, and brings a real sense of joy to the first trailer. It's unclear exactly how Quentin Tarantino is going to handle her infamous and grisly murder at the hands of the Manson Family. But Leo's Rick Dalton is her neighbor, so that should give him a front row seat of the horrifying killings that are synonymous with both Tate and Manson's names.

As for Charles Manson and his family, they don't appear much in the first Once Upon A Time In Hollywood trailer. Damon Herriman is playing Manson himself, and pops up for a brief shot in the trailer, smiling from ear to ear. As for his "family" of girls who are driven to murder, they're not really seen. There are a few shots of young girls looking angry, so perhaps they're part of the group that ultimately murders Sharon Tate and her friends that fateful night. Noticeably absent is Lena Dunham, who plays one of the Manson Family members who doesn't actually get involved in the killings.

Perhaps the funniest moment of the trailer comes from Mike Moh, who is playing famed martial artist Bruce Lee. Moh does a spot-on impression of the legendary fighter, and his conversation with Brad Pitt's character is hilarious. And what's more, we get to see the two actors come to blows, revealing that Once Upon A Time In Hollywood will have its share of action sequences, as well.

Overall, the ton of Quentin Tarantino's ninth film looks wholly unique, and it should be fascinating to see what the famed director brings to the project. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is currently set to arrive in theaters on July 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

Netflix’s The Perfect Date Trailer Has Noah Centineo Renting Himself Out To Girls

Netflix’s The Perfect Date Trailer Has Noah Centineo Renting Himself Out To Girls

Noah Centineo has been making a name for himself through both his work on the Freeform network, as well as through some seriously fun Netflix original movies. The latter platform seems to be his niche home at the moment, as demonstrated in the trailer for his new film, The Perfect Date. Take a look at the footage below!

In The Perfect Date, our protagonist Brooks, played by Noah Centineo, is looking to score some money to put himself through college. Being of the mind to do anything for a fee, he takes an odd job that inspires him to create a business out of being a date for anyone who needs a plus one. It starts off as a one time incident, but when he impresses his first client, played by Laura Marano, she suggests he go pro. Which leads to their friendship, and of course, a budding romance that may or may not pay off in the end.

Co-starring Riverdale's Camila Mendes and Veep's Matt Walsh, The Perfect Date looks like yet another teen rom-com with which the internet is going to fall in love. And this in turn should only further fuel the resurgence that particular genre has recently enjoyed. It certainly helps that the film's lead is a bit of a familiar hand when it comes to making viewers fall in love.

Previously Noah Centineo starred with Lana Condor in the film adaptation of To All The Boys I've Loved Before, which was such a hit on Netflix last summer that it already has a sequel currently in production. But on top of his role in that particular film, Centineo also played the male love interest in another Netflix original, Sierra Burgess Is a Loser, which only cemented his standing within the fanbase that's lauded both of those films.

What's interesting about The Perfect Date is that Noah Centineo is now shifting into the role of the stereotypical romantic lead, complete with his own quirks and pitfalls to explore during this latest project. The world is probably more used to him being the object of affection, so reading what his loyal fans think of his time on the other side of the equation will be a subject ripe for analysis in the weeks directly following this debut.

This is probably the best time for The Perfect Date to drop its trailer, as not only is the film arriving relatively soon on Netflix; but Noah Centineo has also been rumored to be in contention for the lead role of He-Man in the Masters of the Universe reboot. So not only will this new film benefit from the recent talk surrounding its star, but the actor is undoubtedly going to see a boost in viewers for his role, whether its from freshly stoking his pre-existing fanbase, or from newcomers who enjoyed the cut of his jib in the trailer above.

We'll see the end result when The Perfect Date arrives on our collective Netflix doorstep on April 12th. But should you want to hire another Netflix attraction to squire you about town, you can see what else is up for grabs by checking out our 2019 Netflix premiere schedule. If you're even more curious about what to watch in order to familiarize yourself with Noah Centineo's work, there's an entire body of his work you can check out for research purposes.

Should Marvel Announce Its Entire Phase 4 Slate Post-Endgame?

Should Marvel Announce Its Entire Phase 4 Slate Post-Endgame?

On October 28, 2014, while still in the midst of Phase Two and around six months before the release of Avengers: Age of Ultron, Marvel announced its slate of movies for Phase Three. It was like Christmas morning for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and comic book movies in general, as the studio laid out an incredibly ambitious plan that promised an expanding universe of new heroes and epic events.

That slate has changed a bit over the years, dates were moved around, Spider-Man came home, the Wasp teamed up with Ant-Man and the Inhumans were put out to pasture on ABC, but ultimately I don’t think it’s controversial to say that Marvel mostly delivered on the promise of that slate and even exceeded those lofty expectations.

Now we are rapidly approaching the end of that Phase Three slate. Avengers: Endgame arrives in theaters this weekend, the culmination of the MCU’s 11-year, 22-film journey, followed by Spider-Man: Far From Home in July, which, according to Kevin Feige, is the true end of Phase Three.

When we come to the end of something, we often look to the past and the journey that brought us here, but our eyes eventually inevitably turn towards the future. So as Marvel closes the book on The Infinity Saga, it is worth asking what comes next. To that end, we have to wonder if Marvel will announce its entire Phase Four slate (if it is called Phase 4) after Avengers: Endgame/Spider-Man: Far From Home? And to be more specific, should it?

It's not like we are in the dark about what the future of the MCU holds. In fact, we know quite a bit based on reports about projects in development, castings and the filmmakers hired for these future films.

The long awaited Black Widow solo movie is putting together an impressive cast, as is Marvel’s newest foray into the MCU cosmos, The Eternals. Director Scott Derrickson is returning for Doctor Strange 2, as is Ryan Coogler for the Black Panther sequel and (thankfully) James Gunn for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Add in a Shang-Chi movie and you have a pretty impressive slate.

However, the studio hasn’t officially announced these titles. Marvel has release dates carved out from next spring to the summer of 2022, but the movies coming out on those dates are still a mystery. That brings us back around to the question of if Marvel Studios should show all of its cards for the next chapter of the MCU in the wake of Avengers: Endgame.

On the one hand, the answer to this question seems obvious; of course Marvel should announce its entire Phase 4 slate post-Endgame. The Phase Three slate announcement seemed to work out fairly well and we already know some of the stuff that’s coming, so we might as well have confirmation. It would also be a good move to get audiences excited about what the future holds after Avengers: Endgame concludes the current story.

From a fan perspective, who wouldn’t want to know for sure what’s coming and what we have to look forward to? Speculation is part of the fun of being a fan of these types of movies, and in some ways knowing what’s coming gives us more to speculate about and discuss, not less. Just think about how awesome it was when we saw iconic comic book arcs reflected in titles like Civil War, Ragnarok and Infinity War. That hype was a magical feeling and I think we’d all be down to experience it again.

However, there is a less obvious argument that Marvel shouldn’t announce its entire Phase Four slate after Avengers: Endgame or Spider-Man: Far From Home. When Marvel made that Phase Three slate announcement way back in 2014, it was a mere two weeks removed from Warner Bros. announcing its own ambitious slate of DC films.

So it seems possible that Marvel didn’t intend to announce all of those films right away, and only did so to let comic book movie fans and shareholders know that it was not ceding the crown anytime soon. This time around, there is no pressure for Marvel to announce everything if it isn’t ready to do so or would prefer not to.

There is also something to be said for keeping fans in the dark and maintaining an air of mystery about what the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be moving forward. Because we really have no idea what this universe will look like post-Endgame. If you think about it, we’ve known that Thanos was the final boss the heroes would be facing at some point since the mid-credits scene in 2012’s The Avengers. The Infinity Stones have been the through-line of The Infinity Saga and everything has built toward that Thanos encounter.

Right now, we may know some movies that are coming, but Phase Four has no such obvious path. We don’t know what the contours of this next chapter will be. Is it building towards something like a big team-up movie as the previous phases have? What’s the connective tissue between an epic that spans tens of thousands of years, a former KGB spy and a master of Kung-Fu? We don’t know yet and that’s exciting.

If Marvel chooses to dole out information a little bit at a time, versus a dump of information revealing everything that’s coming, we’ll be viewing each film more as an individual piece versus how it fits into the larger narrative arc of "the Phase." That might result in less forward momentum, but there would be a greater potential for surprises.

For example, it doesn't seem like the X-Men or Fantastic Four will be brought in for a while, but we know they’re coming eventually. So what’s more exciting: an announcement and a logo reveal as part of a press conference, or some sort of shocking tease in an end-credits scene? Obviously casting and development news can spoil future reveals, but I think there is merit to learning about the destination as part of the journey, not in advance of it.

Kevin Feige has indicated that Marvel has a three-year plan post-Endgame. The seven movies we believe are in the works are only enough to cover a little over two years of that at a rate of three MCU movies a year. We’re definitely going to hear about some of those movies before too long because Marvel needs to let people know what movies are coming, particularly next year. Still, we don't know if we'll hear about the entire three-year slate.

Ultimately, I think that Marvel should announce some of its Phase Four slate after Avengers: Endgame and Spider-Man: Far From Home, but I don’t think the studio needs to or should announce the entire Phase Four movie plan right away. I want to know what’s coming, but not everything, not yet.

Before we get to any of that, we have to see how Phase 3 and the Infinity Saga comes to a close in this weekend’s Avengers: Endgame. Stay locked to CinemaBlend for all the latest coverage from the film and check out our 2019 Release Schedule to keep track of all of this summer’s biggest movies.

Why Chiwetel Ejiofor Really Wanted To Play The Lion King's Scar

Why Chiwetel Ejiofor Really Wanted To Play The Lion King's Scar

In 1994’s animated classic The Lion King, Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons provided the voice of Scar, one of Disney’s most menacing and captivating villains. For this summer’s photo-realistic CGI remake from director Jon Favreau, Chiwetel Ejiofor takes on the mantle and the mane of Simba’s treacherous uncle. It was the prospect of getting inside his head that made Chiwetel Ejiofor really want to play Scar, as he explained:

I was interested in understanding the real psychology of Scar, the psychology of a person who always feels as if they have been somehow mysteriously overpassed by the fates, by the gods themselves. That sense of not being in the rightful place and therefore living in a kind of parallel universe to the one that you’re supposed to be in — what sort of psychology would that mean, and what would it go to over a period of time?

Scar is, simply put, a fascinating character, and the opportunity to examine his psychology and see what makes him tick is what interested Chiwetel Ejiofor about the role and what he wanted to explore in his performance. Chiwetel Ejiofor wanted to understand who Scar is, why he feels the way he does and how that leads to him doing the things that he does.

It’s not a simple psychology because Scar isn’t a black and white villain in the way characters like Maleficent (not the live-action one) and Ursula are. He’s evil to be sure, but like many great villains, he thinks that he’s the good guy, or at least that his actions are somehow justified.

As Chiwetel Ejiofor told Entertainment Weekly, Scar feels that he isn’t where he is supposed to be, that the universe is out to get him and he is being denied something that he feels he’s owed; in this case, the throne. It has shades of Stannis Baratheon’s claim to the Iron Throne, but instead of being governed by a strict sense of duty and right, Scar is governed by envy and desire.

That psychology results in Scar having a massive chip on his shoulder and crafting a narrative in his head that he’s the downtrodden hero that has been mistreated by the world and those around him. And he naturally sees Simba as someone else who stands in his way.

Despite being a member of the royal family, this character, inspired by Hamlet’s King Claudius, sees himself as an outcast and pals around with the hyenas that also don’t have a place within the circle of life governed by the pride. You can see why Chiwetel Ejiofor was so excited to dig into Scar’s psychology because there’s a lot going on there.

Chiwetel Ejiofor talked about what that psychology would do over time, but it’s also interesting to ask what birthed those feelings in the first place. Therefore, I’m curious if The Lion King will explore the history of Chiwetel Ejiofor’s Scar at all. In the original film, Scar is simply named Scar and we never really get much about how he got his namesake.

However, in The Lion King: Six New Adventures, a collection of spin-off books released in 1994, one of the books titled A Tale of Two Brothers tells the story of Mufasa and his younger brother when they were princes. In that, Scar’s real name is Taka, which means trash in Swahili, and honestly, that would kind of explain why he’s so pissed off.

The elder Mufasa is either the first in line or chosen for the throne (Pride Lands succession rules are unclear) and Taka tries to get him attacked by a buffalo in order to make him look foolish and have their father pick Taka to be king instead. This plan backfires and Taka is hurt, getting his scar in the process.

We don’t know if this backstory is canon, but it would be interesting to see The Lion King give us something new by touching on Scar’s backstory, whatever it is. In this instance, he in many ways was always jealous and deceitful. Like Walter White was always Heisenberg, Taka was always Scar, long before his looks reflected what was on the inside.

Whatever the case, it sounds like Chiwetel Ejiofor is diving deep into the mind of an the iconic villain for his portrayal of Scar. You can see his Scar when The Lion King hits theaters on July 19. Check out our 2019 Release Schedule for all of this summer’s biggest movies.