He had light spots on his head and body as newborn lions usually have. A few hours later, Simba paces nervously on Pride Rock, where Zazu reassures him that Kiara will be fine. Nala dashes to her mate's side and reminds him that though he may not be an elephant, he is a king and that it is his duty to carry out this tribute to an old friend. Simba agrees to these laws but says he will place judgment on Kovu and when the pride returns to Pride Rock, he makes Kovu sleep outside the cave out of distrust. In celebration, Simba, Nala, Kiara, and Kovu walk up to the promontory of Pride Rock and roar out across the kingdom, along with the rest of the pride, the rest of the animals of the Pridelands celebrating below. With Simba's support, Makuu promises to take his duties seriously, much to the discomfort of the other Pride Lander leaders. However, that evening, Nala tries to explain to Simba the fate of the Pride Lands under Scar's reign, trying to persuade him to go back, since he is their only hope. Meanwhile, in the jungle, Simba, Timon, and Pumbaa arrive and encounter the animals neighbouring with Timon and Pumbaa where Simba must eat the food that the fellow animals are eating instead of eating mammals (especially antelopes) and birds they see in the jungle. Simba follows him, bowing his head, as Nala whispers to him that she'd thought he'd been very brave. Also in the park, Simba stars in In Disney California Adventure, Simba makes an appearance in a segment of Simba also makes an appearance on a float in Paris Disneyland with Timon, Pumbaa, Rafiki, and Scar hiding at the back. During levels Simba can collect pawprint-shaped tokens which add to the overall score. Unlike the old Simba, who would rather avoid an argument, this new Simba does not tolerate being bullied and refuses to stand for abuse, being particularly defensive of his mother.

Nala then argues with Scar to tell Simba that he is the rightful king to rule Pride Rock as Simba tells Scar to leave or fight against him. Simba urges Zira to put the past behind her, so that peace may come between them for a better life; however, she is too overcome with worship for Scar to accept his understanding. This is evident when he accepts Simba is so determined to keep his family and kingdom safe that he sacrifices his slow-to-anger attitude from the first film for arrogance, paranoia, and suspicion, preferring to jump into situations without first coming to understand them.
Simba then climbs up Pride Rock, and as he reaches the promontory, he looks up at a break in the clouds to see a patch of stars, one of which is shining brightly. That night at Pride Rock, having been rescued from Simba orders the Lion Guard to ask Dhahabu for permission to use her watering holeSimba asks the spirit of his father, Mufasa, for advice on how to defeat ScarThat evening at Pride Rock, Kongwe advises Simba and Kion to be patient. As Simba looks down proudly at the rejoicing animals who have gathered around Pride Rock, the sky opens up and Simba hears his father say, "Well done, my son. Back at Pride Rock, Scar tells the other lionesses that Mufasa and Simba are both dead since Simba did not come back to Pride Rock at this time as Scar becomes the new king as Rafiki and Zazu hear Scar's plan about this. It's then revealed that while Timon and Pumbaa couldn't get Claudius to agree to not fight Simba, their attempts to make him forfeit Zazu informs Rafiki about Simba's royal reputation being at stake, and is a bit concerned about Timon and Pumbaa. When Simba leaves, Timon goes through his personal belongings to find evidence that the lion might be the predator. When Simba comes back, Timon and Pumbaa quickly put his stuff back in his drawer, and the lion has a feeling that Timon was just trying to get rid of him so that he can go through his stuff and Timon replies by saying that he should trust him and Pumbaa. Simba reacts with shock before Kovu throws him to his death, which snaps Simba out of his dream. After a while, Simba is awakened by a nightmare and begs to sleep with Timon, who begrudgingly agrees. After failing three attempts to rescue his friends from a predator, Simba believes he's bad at being a lionTimon and Pumbaa try three attempts to get Simba rescue them from a predator, with the first one being Simba sensing danger approaching, the second one being Simba using his fearsome roar to scare away predators, and the third one being Simba pouncing on predators. After Mufasa is trampled to death by the wildebeests, Scar advises a hurt and confused Simba to leave the Pride LandsSeeing this, Simba runs to the top of the cliff. Judging by the movie script stating Simba to be "now a full grown cub" and what Simba says and looks like in the movie, he was that old in lion age. After stopping Ansem, Seeker of Darkness, Simba's body was restored and he returned to his own world. Sure enough, the eggs are swept away by the mud, and the Lion Guard rushes to save them.