SPOILER WARNING: This story discusses plot details for “Mufasa: The Lion King,” in theaters on Dec. 20.
Lin-Manuel Miranda knows his way around a Disney tune.
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.”
“That original album is like an all-bangers, no skips album,” Miranda said, with obvious reverence for the Elton John and Tim Rice-written tracks, during a recent visit to “The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.”
The “Mufasa” soundtrack kicks off with “Ngomso,” performed by Lebo M, the South African artists whose distinctive vocals are synonymous with “The Lion King,” followed Miranda’s songs performed by the film’s voice cast, led by Aaron Pierre (as a young Mufasa) and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (as his adopted brother Taka, who will be known as Scar).
Miranda has said his kids — sons Sebastian and Francisco — are beta testers for a song’s success. So which songs are they singing nonstop?
“’I Always Wanted a Brother,’” Miranda tells Variety, with no hesitation. “’Bye Bye’ is another bop in the Miranda household.”
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.
“I went, ‘That is the title of the song,’” Miranda says of the number. And things flowed naturally from there: “I really didn’t have to look much farther than my own house — I have two little boys; they’re 6 and 10 years old. They drive each other insane, and they also protect and stand up for each other. Getting to write about that kind of relationship came naturally.”
The latter track is the film’s villain anthem, written for Kiros, a fearsome lion voiced by Mads Mikkelsen. 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.
“I know that sounds like peanut butter and pickles, but I think they’re two great tastes that taste great together,” Miranda says, recounting his (successful) pitch to Jenkins.
Read on as Miranda, Jenkins and the “Mufasa” cast discuss the film’s soundtrack.
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“I Always Wanted a Brother”
Image Credit: Disney Enterprises Performed by Braelyn Rankins, Theo Somulo, Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison, Jr.
BARRY JENKINS: “I Always Wanted a Brother” was the first song that we made. That song is where Taka and Mufasa fall in love. They grow this deep bond, then they grow up, but they also express their world view. It’s a high-wire act to pull off, and I was excited to see Lin tackle it.
LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA: That song has got to do so much work, right? It’s got to set up the relationship between the brothers when they’re very young [Rankins and Somolu voice Young Mufasa and Young Taka, respectively]. I said, Barry, “Let me time jump them,” and we meet the lions we’re going to be with the rest of the film.
Watch the number below:
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“Milele”
Image Credit: DISNEY Performed by Anika Noni Rose and Keith David
ANIKA NONI ROSE (who voices Mufasa’s mother Afia): When I’m learning music, the first thing I do is work on the words so I can feel what I’m saying and perform the depth of what I’m saying. Then I work on the sounds later. There is a line about our ancestors living inside us that I thought was just poignant and beautiful. We lose people all the time in life, but they’re not really gone. They’re gone in the physical corporeal world, but they’re here. They’re inside of us, and we hold them, and we use them as beacons to move forward.
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“We Go Together”
Image Credit: ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection Performed by Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Tiffany Boone, Preston Nyman and Kagiso Lediga
KELVIN HARRISON JR. (Taka): I love “Hamilton.” I love “Encanto.” I love “In the Heights.” I can’t believe I get to be a part of [Miranda’s] legacy as well. And it’s such a singular sound. As soon as I got the tracks, they didn’t tell us it was Lin-Manuel Miranda, and I was like, “I know what his music sounds like.” I know his signature tone and quality and the cadence of it all. It was fun to play with him and just give it a shot and hope he’s happy.
AARON PIERRE (Mufasa): We have a shared experience in that we were super nervous embarking on any component of this journey, but especially the singing part. Working with Lin-Manuel Miranda on the singing added another layer of nervousness, because he’s so phenomenal at what he does. But he really guided all three of us in achieving the beautiful music that he had written.
It’s so funny, Barry and Lin both have a signature [response] when you’ve landed it and they’re happy. Barry will go, “Got it? Got it? Good.” That’s when you know Barry’s got it. And when you know Lin’s happy, he goes [makes an airhorn sound]. Anytime you heard that from Lin, you’re like, “Thank God.”
TIFFANY BOONE (Sarabi): I was also very nervous. I have a bit of a phobia of singing in front of people, or I did. When they told me that I did have to sing, after auditioning for a few months, I almost said, “Never mind. Why am I gonna embarrass myself?” But everyone was like, “Girl, just do the song and you’ll be fine.” And here we are.
It wound up being one of the best parts of the experience for me. It really freed up something for me that I didn’t need to have on me in the first place. To be able to have my debut into this big singing moment be in some songs written by Lin — that’s insane. It’s a blessing at the end of the day; a blessing I almost ran away from.
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“Tell Me It’s You”
Image Credit: Disney Enterprises Performed by Aaron Pierre and Tiffany Boone
MIRANDA: I grew up in the era of the romantic Disney ballad. It wasn’t a movie unless Peabo Bryson and Celine Dion were singing on the closing credits. “A Whole New World” is another stone cold classic. So, I leapt at the chance to do that.
The subject matter of the song is so beautiful because it’s her pushing him to see his own self-worth, and to see — to borrow from “Can You Feel The Love Tonight” — the king she sees inside. That was thrilling to explore and [Aaron and Tiffany] were just so game. They’re both incredible singers.
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“Brother Betrayed”
Image Credit: Disney Enterprises Performed by Kelvin Harrison Jr.
MIRANDA: It probably was the fastest song to write — mainly because I’d written consecutively, so I’d been leading up to that moment. As someone who likes to dramatize moments through song, to get at the moment when Taka in his heart becomes Scar was thrilling to write. I referred to it as the “Phantom of the Opera” end of Act 1 moment: That chandelier descends and the Phantom’s been there the whole time. That was really exciting. Then, it was even more exciting when I saw Barry’s visuals for it, because he’s right there with Taka as this change of heart is taking place.
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“Bye Bye”
Image Credit: ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection Performed by Mads Mikkelsen, Joanna Jones and Folake Olowofoyeku
MIRANDA: There wasn’t space for a villain song in the original script, and I pitched Barry [to include it]. I was like, “I know we don’t have time for this, but you have Mads Mikkelsen — one of our great Bond villains — and I’m hearing dance hall. I know that sounds like peanut butter and pickles, but I think they’re two great tastes that taste great together.”
The fun of a great villain is a great villain has their own reasons. They’re not just bad for the sake of being bad; they’re just antithetical to your protagonist. To get to write a lyric like “The circle of life is a lie,” and make people go [gasps] was really exciting. That’s the same reason, “Killmonger was right” [from ‘Black Panther’] was trending. If the villains got good reasons, you go with the villain. They’re at their best when they have their reasons, and that [song] was a joy to write.