Lin-Manuel Miranda Shares Details on How He Came to Compose Music for STAR WARS!

Last week, worlds collided as fans of musical theater and fans of STAR WARS heard the exciting news that HAMILTON star and creator Lin-Manuel Miranda composed a song for the newest installment of the space franchise titled THE FORCE AWAKENS.

During his appearance on NBC's Tonight Show, director J.J. Abrams shared the story of his impromptu meeting with the Tony winner during the intermission of a performance of HAMILTON, in which Miranda kiddingly offered his services to compose music for a cantina scene for Episode VII of STAR WARS. (Watch the Tonight Show appearance here)

On Sunday night, Miranda spoke to Vulture at the Kennedy Center Honors event held in Washington DC, where he was honoring award recipient Rita Moreno, and shared details on the STAR WARS collaboration

"The way JJ told it on The Tonight Show is how it happened," Miranda shared with the site. "I was joking. He said he loved Hamilton and its music. And I said, 'Well, if you need a cantina scene, some cantina music, let me know.' And he took me up on it. We wrote the song together. We had one sort of music file that we shared back-and-forth. I'd write stuff, and then he'd add stuff, and I'd take away some of his stuff and add some of mine. It was a joyous collaboration. He's a really wonderful musician, on top of the polymath we already know he is."

Asked if he could give further details on the song he composed, Miranda joked that he would "literally just evaporate" if he revealed any details of the highly secretive film. "I haven't even seen the scene I scored," he said. "J.J. just sent me the temp music they scored to, I started with that beats per minute, that tempo, and then we just started writing from there."

A STAR WARS fan himself, Miranda shared, "I'm hoping to be there opening night. I'm going to be very tired at the show the next day, but I'll be with the Star Wars gang."

We can't wait to hear this new original music from Broadway's hottest star!

Actor, composer, writer, playwright, lyricist, and rapper Lin-Manuel Miranda is best known for creating and starring in the Broadway musicals IN THE HEIGHTS and Hamilton.

Miranda wrote the music and lyrics for the musical In the Heights, which opened on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theatre in March 2008. Miranda's written work for the show earned him numerous accolades, including the 2008 Tony Award for Best Original Score and the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Miranda's performance in the show's lead role of Usnavi earned him a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical.

Miranda is currently performing on Broadway in the lead role of Alexander Hamilton in HAMILTON, a new musical for which he wrote the book, music and lyrics. He is a 2015 recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Award.

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