Amid the divisive audience response to the Moana 2 soundtrack, Lin-Manuel Miranda has now explained his absence from the sequel in a new interview.

Lin-Manuel Miranda is opening up about why he didn’t return for Moana 2. Miranda, who wrote the music for 2016’s Moana and received an Oscar nomination for the song “How Far I’ll Go,” recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about his latest work on Mufasa: The Lion King alongside the film’s director Barry Jenkins.

Lin Manuel Miranda's artistry is widely appreciated, especially his work in the first part of Moana (released in 2016). It was natural to think that he would contribute to its second part by writing the music the way he did previously,