Unless you’ve experienced In the Heights and/or Hamilton on Broadway, chances are you haven’t heard much about Lin-Manuel Miranda hitherto. That all looks set to change very, very soon, as the musical maestro provided some of the original music heard in Disney’s upcoming maritime adventure Moana, while a role in long-rumored sequel Mary Poppins Returns is also in the cards.
Extending his working partnership with the Mouse House, Vulture reports that Miranda is now set to collaborate with Zootopia co-director Byron Howard for a new, as-yet-untitled Disney animation that is being built from the ground up.
“That’s the fun thing about working with someone and having it go well — you go, ‘Okay, what else can we do?'” Miranda told Vulture. “Lasseter took me aside and said, ‘I have an idea: Here’s Byron, and you guys should start talking.'” Though he was excited, Miranda couldn’t say much else about the project, except to caution that it could take years to bear fruit, given the glacial pace of animated production. “We literally haven’t gotten in the room yet,” he said, “but we’re plotting.”
Another gestating project that Miranda has found himself attached to is a live-action spin on The Little Mermaid. So far, the celebrated composer is on board in a producing capacity, though during the interview with Vulture, Miranda toyed with the idea of stepping in front of the cameras.
“We’re in super-early talks — I literally don’t have a title for what my job on The Little Mermaid is yet. Right now, it’s the guy who wears the ‘don’t mess it up’ hat. If I could sign a contract with that job title on it, that would be great! But that’s sort of where we are. I’m such a fan that I can’t picture where I’d fit into that universe. But no matter what, I’m here for the ride.”
Without a title or even release window to call its own, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Howard’s nebulous Disney project is still a ways away. Mary Poppins Returns, on the other hand, is slated for December 25, 2018.