Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear called Lin-Manuel Miranda for advice while working on the hit animated Disney sequel

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.

In a new interview, Lin-Manuel Miranda shared why he didn't return for the sequel, despite writing award-winning songs for Disney's 2016 animated hit.

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 was noticeably absent from Moana 2. Miranda, who received an Oscar nomination for the song “How Far I’ll Go” in Moana, did not work on the music for the sequel. Instead, Miranda was the composer and lyricist on Mufasa: The Lion King.

Exclusive: Miranda tells ‘The Independent’ he was impressed by ‘how far’ star Auliʻi Cravalho’s voice has come

Moana 2 is not a complete disaster so much as a superfluous cash grab that has a hard time disguising its roots as a Disney+ series. It does at least clear the very low bar set by 2023’s abysmal Wish,

Lin-Manuel Miranda explains his absence from Moana 2, praises new composers, and discusses creating music for Mufasa.

Dwayne Johnson, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Auli'i Cravalho arrive at the 2016 "Moana" premiere and each perform on the red carpet

Lin-Manuel Miranda puts to rest the speculation surrounding why he didn't return for Moana 2 after writing much of the first film's iconic music.