Will Encanto 2 Happen? Lin-Manuel Miranda Is Confident
Lin-Manuel Miranda is confident that Encanto 2 will happen - even if not as a movie. The latest film from Disney Animation Studios, Encanto was well-reviewed ahead of its November release, but it wasn't until it hit the Disney+ streaming service in late-December that it found a real audience. Since then, it has grown in popularity to become the studio's biggest hit with viewers since Frozen.
Encanto follows Mirabel Madrigal, the only member of the Colombian Madrigal family not to receive a magical gift since a miracle blessed her grandmother, Alma, decades ago. When she notices that the magic is mysteriously under threat, she takes it upon herself to save it, and ends up challenging the very foundation of their family structure in the process. Fans and critics alike have found a variety of elements praiseworthy, but Miranda's Encanto songs especially, and the soundtrack climbed all the way to the top of the Billboard 200.
Now, as talk of a potential Encanto Disney franchise develops, the prolific songwriter tells Collider he thinks Encanto 2 is just a matter of time. Miranda questions what form a sequel would take, suggesting it could end up either as a series or a stage musical, but he declares himself on board regardless. As to its content, he thinks some of the supporting family members could be worth shoving into the spotlight, including Dolores, Camilo, and Isabella. Check out Miranda's full comments below:
I do think there's an appetite to further explore the Madrigal family, given how many characters there are, and how many gifts there are. And also where we leave the story. Now there is sort of this more fully realized version of themselves. Which way can we go? I think it's a question of when and not if, and what form that will take. Is that another movie? Is that a series? Is that a stage adaptation where we have a little more time, because stage shows are generally an hour longer than movies? And we haven't had conversations as to what form that will take, but I mean, yeah, I'd be down to continue to explore that. I love writing for Dolores and Camilo. I'd love to write more for them. I'd love to write more for Isabela. So I'm not sure what the next form of that will be, but we haven't had specific conversations about it's this or it's this.
Encanto fans are sure to be excited by this response from Miranda, as any successful sequel surely needs him returning to write its soundtrack. As proven by the extensive Encanto theories shared on TikTok, where much of the audience interaction has taken place, there is a lot of interest in seeing some of the supporting Madrigals developed further, especially the ones that didn't receive much screen time. Camilo, for example, didn't have much of an arc in the first film, and a story centered more heavily on the shape-shifter could prove compelling.
That Miranda is unsure of just what Encanto 2 could look like is noteworthy, as it's unclear how audiences would respond to a shift in format. The idea of an Encanto Disney+ series, perhaps with an episode dedicated to each underserved Madrigal, could be a good fit, but the limited accessibility of a stage production might result in some backlash. That said, any Encanto 2 news is good news at this point, and with Miranda eager to get the ball rolling, serious creative discussions at Disney could start up soon.
Source: Collider