Scar. Mufasa. The gorge. You know exactly what I’m talking about because that single moment from 1994’s The Lion King is probably burned into your psyche if you grew up within three decades of a television. But the long live the king meme isn't just a nostalgia trip for 90s kids; it’s a versatile piece of internet shorthand that people use to describe the ultimate, often hilarious, betrayal.
It’s about that cold-blooded look in Scar's eyes. It’s about the slow-motion fall. Honestly, the internet has a weird way of taking the most traumatic childhood moments and turning them into a punchline for when someone gets kicked out of a group chat or loses a game of Mario Kart.
Where Did It All Actually Start?
Technically, the phrase is centuries old, rooted in the French "Le roi est mort, vive le roi!" which was used to announce a new monarch the second the old one kicked the bucket. But we aren’t here for a history lesson on the House of Valois. We’re here because of Disney.
In the original animated film, Scar digs his claws into Mufasa’s paws. He leans in. He whispers the line with a chilling level of sass provided by Jeremy Irons. Then, he lets go. For years, this was just a sad movie scene. Then the early 2010s happened.
Tumblr and Reddit users started grabbing screenshots of that specific close-up. At first, it was just "lion king feels." But then the remixing started. People realized the visual of one character holding another over a ledge—only to drop them—was a universal metaphor for life’s little betrayals.
Why the Long Live the King Meme Still Sticks Around
The staying power of this meme is kinda wild when you think about how fast most memes die. Remember Harlem Shake? Gone. Dat Boi? Ancient history. But Scar? He's eternal.
✨ Don't miss: Why October London Make Me Wanna Is the Soul Revival We Actually Needed
Part of it is the sheer drama. The long live the king meme works because it’s high-stakes imagery applied to low-stakes situations. If your roommate eats the last slice of pizza you were saving, posting a picture of Scar dropping Mufasa is the only appropriate level of melodrama. It’s performative. It’s theatrical.
The Evolution into "Long Live the King" (2019)
When the "live-action" (read: hyper-realistic CGI) remake dropped in 2019, the meme got a second wind. Interestingly, a lot of people hated it. In the 2019 version, Scar doesn't whisper the line with the same Shakespearean flair. He almost barks it.
Fans of the original were quick to point out that the lack of expression on the realistic lions’ faces actually made for worse memes. It turns out, you need that arched eyebrow and the wicked smirk of the 2D animation to really sell the "villain" energy. The internet basically rejected the 2019 visuals and stuck with the 1994 classics for their shitposting needs.
Famous Variations and Gaming Culture
You've probably seen this play out in Super Smash Bros. or Minecraft. Gaming has basically adopted the long live the king meme as a standard operating procedure.
Think about it:
🔗 Read more: How to Watch The Wolf and the Lion Without Getting Lost in the Wild
- Super Smash Bros: Kirby or King K. Rool throwing someone off the stage.
- Among Us: That moment when you realize your "buddy" is the Impostor and they’re about to vote you off the ship.
- Call of Duty: A teammate closing a door on you while a grenade is mid-air.
There was a particularly famous clip that went viral a few years back involving two cats. One cat was hanging off a sofa, and the other was just staring at it from above. The owner edited the Lion King audio over it, and it racked up millions of views. It was perfect. The cats didn't know they were reenacting a Greek tragedy, but the internet sure did.
The Subversion of the Meme
Lately, the meme has evolved into something more abstract. People started using it to describe "killing off" old versions of themselves or even corporate rebrandings. When a company replaces a beloved CEO or a social media platform changes its UI for the worse, you’ll see the long live the king meme pop up in the comments.
It’s also leaked into other fandoms. You’ll see "Long live the King" edits for Godzilla, Game of Thrones, and Marvel movies. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the phrase is used literally, but the meme community immediately linked it back to the lion on the cliff. It's like our brains are hardwired to think of Scar whenever a throne is up for grabs.
Addressing the Misconceptions
People often forget that Scar actually loses in the end. Like, badly. He gets eaten by his own henchmen (the hyenas). So, when people use the long live the king meme to celebrate their own "savage" behavior, they’re inadvertently casting themselves as the guy who ends up as a pile of bones.
Another thing? The quote in the movie is actually just a small part of a larger, much darker political coup. In the meme world, we strip away the tragedy of Simba losing his dad and replace it with the tragedy of losing a 10-kill streak in Fortnite. It’s a fascinating look at how digital culture desensitizes us to drama by turning it into a template.
💡 You might also like: Is Lincoln Lawyer Coming Back? Mickey Haller's Next Move Explained
How to Use It Without Being Cringe
Look, if you're going to use this meme in 2026, you can't just post a low-res screenshot from Google Images and expect a "like." That’s amateur hour.
- Context is everything. Use it when the betrayal is genuinely funny or unexpected. If you use it for something too serious, it feels tasteless. If you use it for something too minor, the joke lands flat.
- Video over static images. The most effective versions of the long live the king meme right now are short-form videos (TikToks/Reels) where the audio cuts out right as the person "falls."
- Mix your metaphors. Combine Scar with other memes. Maybe Scar is wearing "deal with it" sunglasses. Maybe Mufasa is holding a Bitcoin that's currently crashing.
The Psychological Hook
Why do we love it? Psychologically, the meme taps into our "Schadenfreude"—the pleasure we get from others' misfortunes. But because it’s a cartoon lion, we don't feel guilty about it.
It also gives us a way to process being "wronged." Instead of being genuinely mad at a friend who bailed on plans, sending them a long live the king meme lets them know you’re annoyed while keeping things light. It’s a digital peace offering disguised as a death threat. Sorta.
What’s Next for the King of Memes?
Memes usually have a shelf life of about three weeks before they become "normie" bait and die. The long live the king meme is an outlier. It’s been relevant for over a decade in its digital form and thirty years in its cinematic form.
As long as there are siblings pushing each other off couches, gamers betraying their squads, and Shakespearean-level drama in our everyday lives, Scar will be there, claws out, whispering those four iconic words.
To really master the art of the internet betrayal, you have to stay updated on the latest editing trends. Check out CapCut templates that feature the "slow-motion fall" effect, or look for 4K AI-upscaled versions of the original 1994 footage to make your memes look crisp. The best way to keep the meme alive is to keep finding new, ridiculous things to "drop" off that metaphorical cliff.
Start by looking through your own screen recordings from your last gaming session—odds are, there’s a "Long Live the King" moment hidden in there waiting to be edited. Then, post it to a relevant subreddit like r/prequelmemes (if you can find a Star Wars crossover) or r/memes to see if it catches fire. Just make sure you're the one holding the paws, not the one falling into the stampede.