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Lin-Manuel Miranda Breaks Down ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Songs — and How He Convinced Barry Jenkins to Add the Villain Anthem ‘Bye Bye’
After winning Grammys for his 'Moana' and 'Encanto' songs, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote original tracks for Disney's 'Mufasa: The Lion King.'
After winning Grammys and earning Oscar nods for his “Moana” and “Encanto” songs (including “How Far I’ll Go,” “Dos Oruguitas” and, of course, the viral earworm “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”), Miranda teamed up with famed composer Alan Menken to contribute to the soundtrack for 2023’s live-action “The Little Mermaid.” Now, he’s written a half-dozen new songs for the Barry Jenkins-directed “Lion King” prequel “Mufasa.” Because Miranda is well-versed in all things Magic Kingdom, there’s perhaps no one better prepared to continue the musical legacy of “The Lion King.” The original 1994 film has such memorable hits as “Circle of Life,” “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King,” “Hakuna Matata” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” The former is one of the first tracks Miranda wrote for the film, inspired by a line of dialogue in Jeff Nathanson’s script — when Taka, who is heir to a royal bloodline, rescues Mufasa, who was separated from his family in a tragic accident. The script didn’t originally call for a solo, but Miranda felt the opportunity to get an iconic Bond villain singing a dancehall-tinged track was too good to pass up.
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