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Lin-Manuel Miranda In Talks To Write First Latina Princess in a Disney Movie

The writer of ‘Hamilton’ (and the hit score of ‘Moana’) is reportedly in talks which could see further diversity in Disney’s kids offerings. About time, too.

He’s proved that minorities can make bank on Broadway, and now Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is in talks about creating the first Latina princess to star in a Disney movie, Page Six reports.

Disney has been criticized for the slow pace at which it has moved to include minorities in its big budget kid’s movies, and it is notable that Miranda was closely involved—as music co-writer—on the film Moana, which told the story of a Polynesian girl who battles ingrained sexist attitudes in a story drawn from the mythology of Samoa, Tonga and other South Pacific islands.

Now, however, Miranda, who is currently starring in a limited run of his Broadway smash as part of a fundraiser for hurricane-battered Puerto Rico, where his parents were born and still have a home, is said to be co-writing an animated musical featuring a young Latina heroine, conceived as a follow-up to Moana.

Miranda’s father, Luis, told Page Six, “He is talking to Disney about a sequel to Moana, but the movie would be about a Latina princess.”

Reps for Disney didn’t get back to Page Six.

Disney is reportedly planning to include an openly gay character in its upcoming movie, Jungle Cruise, currently slated for an October release.

British comedian Jack Whitehall will play the gay character. While welcoming the inclusion of a gay character, some commentators have criticized Disney for handing the part to a straight actor.

In response to reports that Whitehall’s performance would be ‘effete’ and ‘camp,’ the actor Omar Sharif Jr. complained that Disney’s “first significant gay role” would be “played by a straight white man perpetuating stereotypes.”

In 2017, the director of Beauty and the Beast, Bill Condon, was criticized after he hyped up  an “exclusively gay moment” in the film that turned out to be nothing more than two men dancing together for a few seconds.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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