Lin-Manuel Miranda Couldn’t Write ‘Moana 2’ Music Due to ‘Mufasa’

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As a cinema devotee with a penchant for Disney’s musical masterpieces, I find myself at a crossroads over the recent developments in Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s career. The man who gave us the enchanting melodies of Moana, the pulsating rhythms of Encanto, and the soulful ballads of Hamilton, has chosen to compose for Mufasa: The Lion King instead of Moana 2.

In 2016, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music played a significant role in the praise and success of the original Moana. Consequently, it came as a surprise when he didn’t return to create the music for Moana 2. What made this more surprising was that Miranda was still collaborating with Disney, as he was composing original music for Mufasa: The Lion King, set to release just weeks after Moana 2. However, it wasn’t a case of Miranda choosing Mufasa over Moana 2; the decision was not as straightforward.

During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Miranda shared that he was already engaged in the development of “Mufasa: The Lion King” when the announcement for “Moana 2” as a full-length movie came. He mentioned that Emily Bear and Abigail Barlow (Barlow and Bear), who were previously working on music for the proposed “Moana” television series, had their tasks upgraded to creating songs for the eventual upgrade of the project into “Moana 2”. In his own words:

In reality, things didn’t fall into place as you might think. I received the script for Mufasa right after completing Encanto, and since it was still early in 2022, I began working on that project immediately. Interestingly enough, the sequel to Moana, titled Moana 2, was already being developed as a TV series with Emily [Bear] and Abigail [Barlow]. This was all happening concurrently. When it was decided to transform that TV series into a film, the project was already well underway, or as we say, “they were already cooking.

Miranda’s account creates an interesting timeline for the development of Moana 2 from a Disney+ series to a feature film. The series was announced in December 2020, and Barlow and Bear blew up in popularity following The Unofficial Bridgerton Musical on TikTok in early 2021. This likely put the songwriting duo on Disney’s radar early on. They were seemingly brought on board sometime in 2021, before Encanto came out in November 2021. Barlow and Bear were hired onto the Moana television series before Miranda became busy with Mufasa: The Lion King, so it is curious Disney didn’t approach him right off the bat if they knew it would be a musical.

Lin-Manuel Miranda Has Shaped Disney Music Over the Past Eight Years

Lin-Manuel Miranda has significantly contributed to Disney’s contemporary music scene and overall brand. The release of “Moana” in 2016 coincided with the surge in popularity of “Hamilton.” A year prior to the release of “Moana,” he also made an appearance in “The Force Awakens,” where he was a featured composer, penning lyrics for the alien music within Maz Kanata’s castle. Disney obtained broadcast rights for Miranda’s “Hamilton” Broadway recording, which they aired on Disney+ in 2020 during the Fourth of July weekend to record-breaking viewership. Following this, he created “Encanto,” whose hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was the first Disney song to reach #1 on the Billboard Top 100 since “A Whole New World” from “Aladdin.” Miranda then composed original music for the 2023 release of “The Little Mermaid,” followed by “Mufasa: The Lion King.

The lack of Miranda’s participation in Moana 2 seems to be noticeable among both audiences and critics when it comes to evaluating the new songs for this Disney sequel. Critics have generally found the original tunes underwhelming, often falling short of the lofty standards set by the initial movie. Nevertheless, composers Barlow and Bear remain confident that children who watched Moana 2 during Thanksgiving break will be humming the songs when they return to school next month. The potential Academy Award-winning songs from the film are “Beyond” and “Can I Get a Chee Hoo?” However, if the music for Mufasa: The Lion King is well received, it might displace Moana 2 in the Best Original Song category.

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2024-12-11 21:31