Lin-Manuel Miranda talks live-action Little Mermaid and secret Disney film

November 16th 2016, 11:31am

Last Updated on July 31, 2021

Ever since the Broadway hit Hamilton started making some serious waves, writer/star Lin-Manuel Miranda has begun some serious collaborations with Disney. He's already worked with directors John Musker and Ron Clements on songs for MOANA, and is now currently off to shoot MARY POPPINS RETURNS with Emily Blunt. That's only the beginning, as he is also a co-producer and songwriter (with Alan Menken) on the live-action adaptation of THE LITTLE MERMAID, as well as in the beginning processes of creating an all-new Disney animated film with ZOOTOPIA co-director Byron Howard. Whew! Looks like Miranda has all of the work on his hands and then some! Check out what he had to say about it to Vulture in the snippets below!

Lin-Manuel Miranda on the live-action THE LITTLE MERMAID:

I'm intimidated. This came out of a conversation with Disney, and basically they were like, 'There's no bigger fan of this movie than you, and no bigger public supporter.' 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. If this requires new music, I'm here for that, and if this requires me weighing in on who makes this thing, I'm here for that. If this requires me just saying, 'That doesn't look like it's underwater,' I'm even here for that! It's going to be a huge challenge to not make it feel uncanny valley–ish.

Regarding a new animated film with Byron Howard:

That's the fun thing about working with someone and having it go well — you go, 'Okay, what else can we do?' Lasseter took me aside and said, 'I have an idea: Here's Byron [Howard], and you guys should start talking.' We literally haven't gotten in the room yet, but we're plotting.

Miranda went on to say that he couldn't picture where he'd fit into that universe when asked about possibly playing a role in THE LITTLE MERMAID. With that said, the man's obviously a major talent to be reckoned with and cares a lot about the material. Whether it's THE LITTLE MERMAID or the new animated venture he's cooking up with Byron Howard, I think we can expect some things crafted with great care from Miranda.

Lin-Manuel Miranda's next contributions can be found in MOANA, which opens in theaters on November 23, 2016.