Lin-Manuel Miranda, who received an Oscar nomination for “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana, opened up about why he didn’t return for its record-breaking sequel, Moana 2.
The award-winning artist sat down with The Hollywood Reporter ahead of the release of Mufasa: The Lion King and explained that it wasn’t a choice between working on the Lion King prequel and Moana 2.
“It didn’t line up that way actually,” he said. “I got the script for Mufasa when I had just finished Encanto, and so I started working on that at the top of ’22. So, Moana 2 was already in process as a TV series with Emily [Bear] and Abigail [Barlow]. So then, when that decision got made to turn that into a movie, they were already cooking.”
Related Stories
Despite not being asked to return for the film, again voice starring Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson, the Hamilton creator did get a chance to hear Bear and Barlow’s music for it.
“They’re so talented,” he said. “More than anything, what’s so thrilling is we hired Auli’i when she was 14 years old, and the stuff she’s singing in this new film is so just technically difficult, to see how far she’s come as a performer is really extraordinary.”
Miranda wrote the music for the first film. “How Far I’ll Go” was nominated for best original song at the Oscars and Golden Globes, as well as best song written for visual media at the Grammys, which it won.
When creating the soundtrack for Mufasa, he explained that when it comes to telling the story about Mufasa and Scar, it’s almost like going in the opposite direction of what everyone knows about them from The Lion King.
“I read the script, and I was just so surprised by it,” he told THR at its world premiere. “Everything I thought I knew about Mufasa and Scar was totally upside down, and I could see very clearly where the songs went. The Lion King is so beloved by so many people, including myself, so I just wanted to do right by it.”
He noted that the most fun part of working on the music for the prequel was leaning into the part audiences don’t know: “This is a story of two brothers who adore each other, and how do we get from that to the way we met Mufasa and Scar in the original?”
Another draw for Miranda was the opportunity to work with director Barry Jenkins, who he called “one of our great filmmakers,” noting that he “was honored that he asked me.”
While speaking with THR before the Mufasa premiere, Jenkins and Miranda shared their memories of the late James Earl Jones, who voiced the character in the original animated film and 2019’s The Lion King live-action. (The prequel opens with a tribute to the actor.)
“Being someone Black in Hollywood, you have these mentors, these people you look up to,” Jenkins shared of the late icon. “So I met him very briefly in the past but not in regards to a particular project. But when he did pass, it was very clear. I grew up without a father figure. This character, in some ways, became a father figure, so it felt very appropriate to find a way to honor him.”
Jones’ legend extended beyond the big screen to Broadway where he had a huge career as well. Miranda recalled seeing him perform several times and crossing paths with him once in Washington, D.C.
“One of my most memorable days was when I first performed a song from Hamilton at the White House in 2008,” the In the Heights creator shared. “He was performing Othello’s big monologue to the Senate, and so my day started with splitting a van with James Earl Jones to the White House. And I remember saying, like, ‘If this is where the day ends, it’s already the best day of my life.’ He was incredible.”
Jenkins also looked back on the days when Blue Ivy Carter was performing her scenes for Mufasa and how Beyoncé let them have their own process as director and actor.
“I will say, like a mother, she would stay behind and watch as Blue performed her scenes,” he said. “It was really wonderful to see the pride that she took and also, too, I have to say, when your mom is the sun, the moon and the stars, it can be quite intimidating. And I give Beyoncé so much credit because she did everything in her power to make that not the case on the days where they were working together. It was really lovely to see.”
Mufasa: The Lion King hits theaters Dec. 20.
Ryan Fish contributed to this story.
