For Disney alone, Lin-Manuel Miranda has brought his unique musical talents to the Polynesian islands, the mountains of Colombia, the chimney rooftops of Depression-era London, and now to the grand continent of Africa for the highly anticipated Lion King prequel, Mufasa.

Now that Disney has released the trailer for the film, it's been revealed that Lin-Manuel Miranda will be creating original songs for the origin story of Simba's father. Mufasa: The Lion King is a follow-up to the live-action remake of The Lion King directed by Jon Favreau in 2019.

Many of the same voice over actors reprise their roles for the prequel, though the director for this one will be the Oscar-winning Barry Jenkins. The film is also now confirmed to be a musical. Jenkins talked to Empire magazine about how the collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda came to be.

Jenkins explains that he knew Miranda prior to coming on board to direct Mufasa — Jenkins nearly cast the Hamilton star in his romantic drama If Beale Street Could Talk, and they kept in contact after that.

The article reveals however that Jenkins “was initially cautious about directing a musical, because he found that sometimes the ‘music comes first' and the story is secondary.”

For Mufasa: The Lion King, the director “envisioned a more seamless blend of storytelling and song.”

“We wanted to really find a balance of symbiosis between the music and the film,” said Jenkins. “Lin really leaned in and tried to find the places that myself and Jeff Nathanson, the writer of the script, had tried to go deeper into the background of some of these characters in this film.”

Miranda “did a really, really wonderful job,” Jenkins continued, “and he and I already had something of a rapport.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda isn't the only musical icon in the film. Beyoncé will also be reprising her voice over role as Nala. And cast as the daughter of Simba and Nala will be Beyoncé's real-life daughter, Blue Ivy Carter.

Jenkins explained that he recognized Carter's vocal talents after hearing her narration for the audiobook of Matthew A. Cherry’s Hair Love. “She did an absolutely amazing job,” explained Jenkins. “She just felt like this really curious young person.”

The prospect of pairing the famous mother and daughter on screen was intriguing to Jenkins, and he was very happy with how it turned out. “Watching [Beyoncé] coexist with her daughter, and just how lovely and gentle and encouraging she is was really special,” Jenkins said.

“I think it bled into the performances they gave as well,” he continued. “I think this will be this really beautiful time capsule for the two of them, at this moment when they get to share this part of their relationship as these characters.”

With musical auspices like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Beyoncé and Blue Ivy Carter involved, the trailer for Mufasa: The Lion King is creating some serious buzz for the tentpole film, which will premiere in theaters just before Christmas.