From Kopa To Kion – For Anyone Who Needs It!
-Disclaimer: This isn't an opinion post so much as a research-based post to help people. I give context, examples, and explanation but my approach here is neutrality-
Kopa is Simba’s son from the Six Adventures books released shortly after The Lion King’s release, however, the writer did not know that Simba’s cub would be raised at the end of the film, hence why this cub and Kopa look so different. The books are considered semi-canon.
Fluffy, as dubbed by the creators, is Simba’s cub raised at
the end of the Lion King. While officially ungendered, given the context of the film, and the ways he keeps to real life lions, plus coming full circle, and the film
being called The Lion King, we can assume that we are being shown the next
king. In real life, prides are run by one or more male lions.
Chaka is a deleted character from The Lion King 2 who was Simba’s son and heir, and Kiara’s older brother. He was deleted when more and more focus shifted to Kiara. Many speculate he was meant to be Fluffy originally. The creators of The Lion King 2 had no knowledge of Kopa’s existence.
Kiara is Simba’s daughter and heir in The Lion King 2. The creators of this sequel intended her and Fluffy to be one and the same, and, in fact, used the scene at the end of the first movie in a trailer to imply it. There are a few buts, though. While The Lion King 2 is officially canon many fans consider it not to be given its contradictions to the original material, plot holes, and so on.
An example might be Kiara can’t be Simba’s heir, only potentially an important lioness. As Zira says in one of the storybook versions of the sequel, “girls can’t be kings” (as much as we might want them to be!) Given this, she should not be raised by Rafiki, not unless we are implying all of Simba’s children would be given this treatment. So really she can’t be Fluffy from the original film, as the sequel is breaking a world rule.
A very noticeable fact is that the end of The Lion King and the beginning of The Lion King 2 are vastly different – character positions, interactions, time of day and so on – and that is before taking into account that Fluffy and Kiara look vastly different from each other. To anyone thinking about it logically, the two cub raising simply can’t be one and the same. Another little detail is that the cubs raised clearly have different personalities. Kiara wriggles and smiles, acting playfully. Fluffy does not. Kiara was originally named Aisha, then Shani, before the crew settled on calling her Kiara.
Kion is Kiara’s younger brother, a much more recent addition in The Lion King spin-off series, The Lion Guard. Many hoped he was intended as a Kopa substitute, but the creators have denied there is a connection.
All of this has led to a lot of speculation, arguing, and headcanons. Many try to explain the whole thing in-universe. The most convincing (if not necessarily that creative!) is that Fluffy (in an ironic circle of life twist) died shortly after his raising from illness, and would have gone on to be Chaka had he lived. Kopa also died (or at least is believed to have). A popular theory is that Zira killed him, explaining her exile, and Simba’s overprotectiveness of Kiara. This might also explain why Simba felt the need to choose Kiara as his heir even though she could never be “king”. A bit I suppose like how Mary and Elizabeth went on to become queens because Henry VIII had no male heirs after his only son died young (if you know your English History!).
Personally, I have a theory that Zira didn’t kill Kopa
(someone else did, or got close to it) but everyone assumed it was her because
she’d made herself into a troublemaker, thus her hatred towards Simba was
massively fuelled by the unjust accusation, causing her to go on to be what
everyone believed she was. That might even be her real "I'll never let it go!". But of course, everyone has their own takes on the
whole story, and now you can see why!
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