Disney has more than a few talented songsmiths on its payroll, but Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda is switching gears in search of the next big thing. After replacing Elton John in the next Lion King sequel, the actor-songwriter announced plans for a new concept album.
After his success as the Ten Dollar Founding Father in Hamilton, Miranda made a smash with The Walt Disney Company. Having written songs for Moana (2016), Encanto (2021), The Little Mermaid (2023), and even Disney’s Star Wars trilogy, Miranda is stepping back into the realms of Broadway with his next project.
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In the Heights and Hamilton served as the springboards that propelled the performer and composer into stardom, but his departure from Disney’s family-friendly features could have some unusual results. Now that he’s preparing to bring The Warriors (1979) to the Broadway stage with a new album, fans will see “how far he’ll go.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda Returns to the Stage
Miranda might have acquired much of his fanbase thanks to his work with the House of Mouse. Performances in Mary Poppins Returns (2018), the DuckTales remake, and Percy Jackson and the Olympians have made him a household name, but his work on The Warriors marks his first major return to the stage since his iconic historical musical.
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A report from Bloomberg shares the following update:
“Lin-Manuel Miranda is wrapping up the recording of a concept album for a new musical co-written by playwright Eisa Davis, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The album will be based on the 1979 movie ‘The Warriors,’ whose sympathetic depictions of gang members and gritty cinematography made it a standard bearer for youth counterculture. Representatives for Miranda declined to comment.”
For those not in the know, Rolling Stone defines concept albums as
“Thematic albums, tied ogether by very specific moods or interconnected songs, aren’t new to pop; the kingpin of the form, Frank Sinatra, started making them 70 years ago. And thanks to the Beatles’ ‘Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,’ the Who’s ‘Tommy,’ and so many more, rock took the concept of a concept album and ran with it—with narrators, characters, and lots of lyrics and liner notes to explain it all to enrapt listeners.”
Although many, including this writer, might describe the combination of The Warriors and Lin-Manuel Miranda as exceptionally strange, seeing him return to his element is still exciting. The project will be an interesting piece of media regardless.
Breaking Disney’s Flow
Since Miranda is returning to Broadway with this new project, it might give some of his fans cause for alarm, but that might not be the end of the story. The composer has become as recognizable under the Disney banner as much as Elton John, Alan Menken, and Howard Ashman, and it’s safe to say he will return after he finishes The Warriors.
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Additionally, he’s proven on multiple occasions that he is far from a one-trick pony. From writing award-winning songs to playing characters like Gizmo Duck, he’s far from finished at Disney, and the studio won’t be letting him go any time soon.
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