Lin-Manuel Miranda has been very busy. last week, Mufasa: The Lion King Released and soaring at the box office, it's about EGOT (again) and poised to All inhis first play ever on Broadway.
“And it's snowing like crazy here in New York!” He says as he leans his screen to the window during the video call. “It's all good, beautiful times.”
“Lovely times” is a fitting film for the Pulitzer Prize winner, who is currently on a busy press tour writing the soundtrack to the Barry Jenkins film. Mufasa: The lion kingan introduction to the new 2019 edition The lion king. The original 1994 animated film included songs written by Tim Rice and Sir Elton John, which seemed like impossibly large shoes for Miranda to fill.
“It was tough,” he says with a broad smile, minus his signature beard. “I was so terrified.”
Miranda had a lot going on when she took over Mufasa In 2021. He was working on his first feature film Tick, tick…BOOM!while pressing Netflix Vivo and Jon M. Chu's film adaptation of his outstanding musical score In the highlandsand I had just finished writing the #1 billboard soundtrack for a Disney animated film Encanto.
However, for Miranda, saying yes to Barry Jenkins was a no-brainer. “I try to say yes to things that I know I will learn from,” Miranda says. “Barry is one of our great storytellers.” Miranda also knew that Jenkins would be a great collaborator. “I knew I wouldn't go. These are your songs, Barry. See you on opening night!”
The decision paid off. Miranda's song “Tell Me It's You” from Mufasa The soundtrack was shortlisted for Oscar nominations earlier this month.
The soundtrack features seven songs written and co-produced by Miranda, who worked with Lebo M and Dave Metzger on the music. One of the songs is a raunchy song by Mads Mikkelsen, which Miranda says he pushed for after finding an old video of Mikkelsen singing on a variety show in his 20s.
“I sent it to Barry and said, ‘Look!’” Miranda says. “I think we have a chance here.”
Fortunately, it was director Jenkins' job to get Mikkelsen to sing, but according to Miranda, “When you sign on to The lion kingyou know that anyone or anyone can sing at any time.
Lebo M. and Metzger did the soundtrack for the The lion king Adapting to the stage as well, working with Miranda was a dream. “Part of accepting the gig was that I wanted to work with Lebo M,” Miranda says. “He is the musical powerhouse of all these amazing artists who have worked in this world.”
Eagle-eyed fans have pointed out the similarities between Mufasa and Taka's characters and those of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr from Hamiltonthe musical that launched Miranda's star into the stratosphere, but Miranda He doesn't see that. “I wasn't thinking Hamilton Absolutely,” he says. The only overlap he could see was that in both musicals, the only thing the audience knew was that the two main characters hated each other by the end.
“What we know about Mufasa and Scar from the original film is tragic, so coming back and seeing them madly in love with each other as adopted brothers is very moving,” Miranda said.
Mufasa: The Lion King
Disney
Now, with two Emmy Awards, five Grammy Awards, and three Tony Awards, Miranda is an Oscar away from EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) status. But he seemed unaffected by this possibility. He agrees that the EGOT club is small and creative, but adds that it is “also designed. No one cared about this until about 20 years ago when there was 30 Rock An episode about her.” He points out that most of his heroes didn't receive an EGOT either. “Stephen Sondheim never got one,” he says.
Oscar or no, Miranda prefers to focus on next year. He's starting 2025 on stage once again with his delivery All in– A series of short comic stories he wrote SNL Written by Simon Rich, it features a rotating cast that includes John Mulaney, Jimmy Fallon, Richard Kind, Aidy Bryant, and Miranda. Hamilton Co-stars Renée Elise Goldsberry and Andrew Rannells. It's Miranda's first time on stage since 2022 Free love supreme– The show, directed by Thomas Kail, was performed by Miranda with the improvisational hip-hop comedy group he started with Anthony Veneziale in 2004. It is also his first non-musical Broadway outing ever. Richard Kind described it as:The Vagina Monologues “But more fun,” he says with a smile, saying he is excited to work with people who are “a lot more fun than me.”
In long-term plans, discussions are underway to adapt a concept album Warriors— with singer-songwriter and playwright Issa Davis — into a musical. The album is inspired by the 1979 action film Warriorsreleased in October of this year, was produced by rapper Nas. This was the first time Miranda had built an album in the studio rather than creating an album for a musical, which was greatly helped by having Nas as a sounding board. “He got involved in the project very organically,” Miranda says. “I told him I was working on Warriors Adapting and his eyes popped out of his head; He said, “This is my favorite movie!”
Although the album is based on the original action film, Miranda has no plans to push it to join the remake train that's flooding Hollywood at the moment. “that it the New York movie,” he says. “For me, the score is a love letter to the film, not a reason to replace it.”
The hype surrounding his latest work is reminiscent of the 2020-2021 Miranda era, when he had multiple projects to release at the same time. His name was everywhere, and he found himself regularly being mocked on TikTok for various reasons that likely started first with ubiquity and overexposure which included criticism for his lip-biting poses and the tone of his voice. “I was also fed up with myself by the end of 2021,” he says about this time.
In June 2021, online discourse noted the lack of Afro-Latino representation in the cast In the highlands Miranda issued an apology to X. A few days later, Bill Maher used his offer at present In support of Miranda, he called these critics “bullies.”
Then Miranda didn't come back for Moana sequel, though “How Far Will I Go”, his original song in this film was nominated for an Academy Award and widely acclaimed by fans (Miranda collaborated on MoanaSongs with Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foa'i). But Miranda explains his absence Moana 2 It was due to scheduling conflicts which he is “very proud” of Moana 2 Songwriters Barlow & Bear (Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear) were given the opportunity. They are the first songwriting duo on a Disney movie. However, Miranda is still working on live work for his frequent collaborator Kyle Moana The adaptation, scheduled for release in 2026. “It's all good,” he says.
Despite these projects, Miranda says 2025 is the year he “goes to take a well-deserved vacation” to recharge his batteries. “I'm living my life and I'll write as much as I can before I die,” he says.
