"Mufasa was the Bad Guy" Dark Fan Theory of "The Lion King" Part 1

The plot of The Lion King — both the 1994 original and the 2019 remake — hinges on the idea that Mufasa is a good and benevolent king murdered by his greedy, wicked brother Scar. Mufasa’s son Simba is blamed for his death and runs away from home, and needs to learn the lessons his father taught him to become the lion king that his subjects truly deserve. But what if Mufasa wasn’t such a great leader? What if he was a bad king all along? And what if The Lion King is actually a much darker movie than most people believe? If he’s such a good dude, why is he so cruel to some of his subjects? Why does he treat some people well and others poorly? And what does that mean for the Circle of Life?