Lin-Manuel Miranda Reveals Why He Didn't Return for MOANA Sequel
Miranda wrote songs for the 2016 animated hit.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is shining light on his Moana 2 absence. Though he wrote songs for the 2016 Disney hit, Miranda was not involved in the new sequel. In an interview with People, the Tony Award winner explained that "there was never an opportunity to be on Moana 2" because the production “already had their songwriters" for the TV series. Later, the series was reworked into a theatrical feature, a decision that resulted in adjustments to the songs written by songwriting team Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, along with Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina.
Nevertheless, Miranda clarified that he is "really proud" of the work that was done on the sequel, which has taken the box office by storm since its debut in theaters. To learn more about the new songs, check out BroadwayWorld's interview with Barlow & Bear.
Despite not being involved in Moana 2, Miranda did write new songs for Mufasa: The Lion King, the prequel film hitting theaters this month. “The ballads were really exciting because we actually haven’t had a ballad in a Disney movie in a long time,” he explained in a recent interview with Good Morning America. “There’s a ballad called ‘I Know It’s You’ that is around the third act of this movie and I’m as proud of it as anything I have ever written.”
Exploring the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands, “Mufasa: The Lion King” enlists Rafiki to relay the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe. The movie releases in theaters on December 20, 2024.
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ epic animated musical Moana 2 reunites Moana and Maui three years later for an expansive new voyage alongside a crew of unlikely seafarers. With music by Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear, Moana 2 opened in theaters on November 27, 2024.
Photo Credit: Bruce Glikas
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