Season 4 (The Demon of Life)

Season 4 is the 4th and final season of The Lion Guard, set to premiere on May 20th, 2021 on Disney + and May 28th, 2021 on the Disney Channel, with a 90 minute season premiere titled, The Next Step. Originally, the series was going to end at 3 seasons. However, after almost 2 years of encouragement from fans and critics alike, Disney has renewed The Lion Guard for the long-awaited 4th season that will not only end the series, but the The Lion King trilogy as a whole. Unlike the previous 3 seasons, Season 4 will be streamed on Disney + and will be rated G, due to the heavy criticism that the first 3 seasons had gotten for its overly kid-friendly nature that stemmed from it airing on Disney Junior. Simultaneously, the season will also air a week later on Disney Channel, with episodes being released on DisneyNOW and watchtlg.netify.
Due to Ford Riley's contract ending with the 3rd season, Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, who worked on the original film, as well as every single director, writer, scriptwriter, screenwriter, and artist that previously worked on the franchise. The new season will also feature the return of many voice actors from the films, such as Matthew Broderick as Simba, Moira Kelly as Nala.
The season will pick up after the events of Return to the Pride Lands, and focus around the fates of many characters from both the films and series, and will also delve into the backstories of many characters. The final season will also incorporate elements and characters from the semi-canon Six New Adventures book series, such as Mohatu, Ahadi, Kopa, and Uru.
== Episode List ==
The following is a list of episodes featured in Season 4 of The Lion Guard TV series.
#	Title 	Airdate 	Synopsis
1	The Next Step 	May 28th, 2021	The defeats of Scar and Zira have long passed in the Pride Lands. Simba and Nala announce their retirement as the King and Queen of the Pride Lands: As Kion and Rani prepare for their alliance with Kovu and Kiara, Rani reflects to the night of her parent's deaths and goes to them for guidance. Meanwhile, the Pride Lands is in for a surprise when Kopa, the son of Simba, returns to Pride Rock.
2	The Lion and Lioness Guard	May 29th, 2021	Kopa struggles to find his place in the pride, however, when Vitani and her Lion Guard are in need of a new member, Kopa sets out to become Vitani's side-kick.
3	Pride of the Tree of Life 	May 30th, 2021	At the Tree of Life, the Night Pride gains new members, both of them being lions and non-lions. King Kiongozi and Queen Rani have to make sure the many different species get along.
4	The Lion Queen 	May 31st, 2021	When Kion is in a plight that not even Askari or Mufasa, he seeks the guidance of the spirit of his grandmother, Queen Sarabi, and must confront a deep emotion that he has been suppressing.
5	The Unity Mission 	June 1st, 2021	Vitani's Lion Guard and the Night Pride are called together for a diplomatic mission with one of the neighboring prides.
== Confirmed Upcoming Characters ==
=== The Night Pride ===
* Kion (voiced by Max Charles) Simba and Nala's son, Mufasa and Sarabi's grandson, Kiara and Kopa's younger brother, former leader of the Lion Guard, and the primary protagonist. After giving his old position to his cousin Vitani at the end of Season 3, Kion marries Rani and becomes the King of the Night Pride and the Tree of Life, starting his arc in Season 4.
* Fuli (voiced by Diamond White): Kion's king cheetah friend, Azaad's girlfriend and the fastest member of the Lion Guard and later the Night Pride's fastest. Following the battle with the Outlanders in Season 3, Fuli becomes Kion's second-in-command and remains his deputy even after his rise to power. Fuli will undergo a romantic sub-plot with Azaad.
* Beshte (voiced by Dusan Brown): Kion's hippopotamus friend and the strongest member of the Lion Guard, later the Night Pride. He is the eldest member of the Guard.
* Ono (voiced by Atticus Shaffer): Kion's cattle egret friend and a member of the Lion Guard. Though he was originally the keenest of sight, after severely damaging his eye-sight during a rescue mission, he soon became the Lion Guard, and later the Night Pride's smartest.
* Bunga, (voiced by Joshua Rush): The adoptive son of Timon and Pumbaa, Kion's adopted uncle and honey badger friend and the Night Pride's bravest.
* Anga (voiced by Bryana Salaz): A martial eagle. Anga became a member of the Lion Guard in the replacement of Ono, but later became the Night Pride's keenest of sight.
* Rani (voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee): The Queen of the Night Pride and the Tree of Life alongside Kion. The season will follow Rani's rule over the Tree of Life with her one true love Kion, and will explore into her past.
* Baliyo (voiced by Hudson Yang): Rani's younger brother and the prince of the Night Pride. Baliyo will support his brother-in-law and sister's rule over the Kingdom.
* Surak (voiced by Lou Diamond Phillips): Rani and Baliyo's uncle and an elder prince of the Tree of Life. Surak will fulfill his mother's dying wish and guide Rani as she rules the Tree of Life.
* Nirmala (voiced by Miki Yamashita): The healer of the Tree of Life. Entrusted by Queen Janna, Nirmala is tasked with providing the remedies for all types of ailments, both physically and emotionally.
=== The Lion Guard ===
* Vitani (voiced by Lacey Chabert): The daughter of Scar and Zira, the sister to Kovu, the cousin/sister-in-law to Kion, Kopa, and Kiara, and the new leader of the Lion Guard in Kion's absence. Due to Jennifer Lien, the voice actress of Adult Vitani in Simba's Pride retiring, Chabert will be the permanent voice actress of Vitani.
* Tazama (voiced by Sophie Reynolds): The keenest of sight in Vitani's Lion Guard.
* Shabaha (voiced by Fiona Riley): The bravest in Vitani's Lion Guard.
* Imara (voiced by Rachel Crow): The strongest in Vitani's Lion Guard.
* Kasi (voiced by Savannah Smith): The fastest in Vitani's Lion Guard.
* Bahara: The smartest in Vitani's Lion Guard in Vitani's Dream.
=== The Lion King alumni ===
The characters returning from The Lion King and its sequels and spin offs appear in this season.
*Simba, (voiced by Matthew Brodrick): Mufasa and Sarabi's son, Timon and Pumbaa's adoptive son, Scar and Zira's nephew, Nala's mate, Kopa, Kiara and Kion's father, and the reigning King of the Pride Lands. In the original film, Simba became the Lion King after battling and defeating Scar. In the 4th Season, Simba will be retiring as the Lion King to his daughter, Kiara. Matthew Brodrick reprises his role as Simba from the films due to Simba's voice actor in the series (Rob Lowe) receiving criticism for his performance as Simba by many fans.
* Nala, (voiced by Moira Kelly): The daughter of Sarafina, the mate of Simba, the mother of Kiara, Kopa, and Kion, and the Queen of the Pride Lands. Nala will be retiring as the Queen of the Pride Lands in Season 4.
* Mufasa, (voiced by James Earl Jones): Sarabi's mate, the older brother of Scar, Simba's deceased father, and Kion, Kopa, and Kiara's grandfather. Prior to the series, Mufasa was the King of the Pride Lands before he was betrayed and overthrown by his younger brother. Following his passing, he took a spiritual form as a Lion of the Past and went on to give guidance to his son and grandchildren. James Earl Jones returns to voice Mufasa as he did in The Lion King, and its sequels.
* Kiara (voiced by Neve Campbell): Mufasa and Sarabi's granddaughter, Simba and Nala's daughter, Kion and Kopa's sister, Kovu's mate, and princess and future queen of the Pride Lands. Season 4 will feature Kiara's ascension to the throne in her father's place. Neve Campbell reprises her role as adult Kiara from The Lion King II: Simba's Pride.
* Kovu (voiced by Jason Marsden): The adoptive son and former heir of Zira and Scar, the younger brother to Vitani and Nuka, Kiara's mate, and the future King of the Pride Lands. Season 4 will explore Kovu as he will eventually take Simba's place.
* Timon and Pumbaa (voiced by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella): A meerkat and warthog duo who are Simba and Bunga's adoptive parents. Following the events of the original film as well as The Lion King 1 1/2, Timon and Pumbaa move in with Simba's pride and continue to have adventures in the Pride Lands. Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella once again reprise their roles from th efilms.
* Rafiki, (voiced by Khary Payton): The royal mjuzi to the King and Queen of the Pride Lands. In Season 4, Rafiki will search for a successor in Makini's place. Due to Robert Guillame's death, Khary Payton re-assumes the voice acting role of Rafiki.
* Zazu, (voiced by Rowan Atkinson): A red-billed hornbill who serves as the majordomo for the royal family. In Season 4, Zazu will find a successor to take his place as the royal advisor to the King and Queen. Rowan Atkinson returns to voice Zazu in the final season.
* Sarabi (voiced by Alfred Woodard): Simba's deceased mother, Mufasa's mate, Kiara, Kopa, and Kion's grandmother and the former Queen of the Pride Lands. Due to Madge Sinclair's death in 1995, Alfred Woodard, who previously voiced Sarabi in the remake of The Lion King, provides the voice of Simba's mother. Following Sarabi's death, she becomes a spirit like her mate.
* Kopa (voiced by Colin Ford): The eldest son of Simba and Nala, and the prince of Pride Rock. Prior to the events of the series, Kopa was absent from the Pride Lands, and is set to return in Season 4.
=== Supporting Characters ===
* Azaad (voiced by Behzad Dabu). An Asiatic cheetah who serves as Fuli's love interest.
* Sãhasí (voiced by James Sie): Rani and Baliyo's father and the former prince of the Tree of Life.
* Ãnanda (voiced by Grace Young). Rani and Baliyo's mother and the former princess of the Tree of Life.
* Binga (voiced by Fiona Riley): A female honey badger who becomes Bunga's love interest near the end of Season 3.
* Janna (voiced by Shohreh Aghdashloo): Rani and Baliyo's deceased grandmother who precedes Rani as the Queen of the Tree of Life.
* Askari (voiced by Michael Luwoye): The original leader of the Lion Guard before his death. Askari will appear to Kion once again as a spirit form.
*Makini (voiced by Landry Bender): A female mandrill who serves as the royal mjuzi to the King and Queen of the Tree of Life.
== Trivia ==
* This is the first Lion-King related media since the first film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff.
* It is unknown whether or not there will be any antagonists in this season. 
* Unlike the first 3 seasons, this season will be fully animated in traditional hand-drawn animation, with all the original animators from the first, second, and third films coming together to animate the final season. This is due to Mercury Filmworks having moved on to other projects during the series' 2 year cancellation, and the animators of the show wanting to end the series with quality animation similar to that of the film. This was also due to mass criticism of the show's animation in the first 3 seasons for its poor character designs and proportions.
**This will make The Lion Guard, the second animated series on Disney Junior to shift animation styles in its latter seasons, the first being Jake and the Never Land Pirates.
* This season will mark the first official appearance of Kopa in the canon.
* This season will mark the return of Sarabi since her appearance in the original film and will include her first speaking role since the remake.
* Thus far, only 5 episodes have been confirmed for Season 4, however according to Bradley Raymond, this season will have more episodes than any other season in hopes of advancing the story to its fullest.
* Elton John and Tim Rice have been confirmed to produce the score of the series, as they had done in the original film.
* Season 4 is the first season to have a 90-minute episode as opposed to a 49-51 minute episode. This was done on purpose as Disney wanted the premiere to start off the story in a movie-opener-esque fashion.
* Season 4 will be the only season of the show to originally stream on Disney +, and have its availability on television and online websites be on the side, whereas the 3rd season initially leaked on watchtlg.netify and DisneyNOW! and wouldn't air on television until 1-2 months later.
**Originally season was going to premiere on Disney + and Disney Channel on the exact same day, however, the Disney + release was pushed a week back so that fans could anticipate the newer season. The next 4 episodes however will be streamed on Disney + on the exact same day as their air-dates.
*Originally the plan was for Jennifer Lien to reprise her role as Vitani, but upon finding out about her retirement in acting years ago, Lacey Chabert was brought back onto the series as Vitani's voice actress.
*As confirmed by Linda Woolverton, Season 4 will progress with Kion's transition from a teen to an adult. This was due to the Season 3 finale receiving negative reception due to Disney's choice of not depicting Kion as an adult to appeal to its younger audiences.
*Darrell Rooney and Flip Kobler have disagreed on whether or not Nuka and Vitani are the children of Scar, however, it was eventually decided that Season 4 will confirm their relation.
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Category:The Demon of Life