Theater News

Is Disney's Encanto Broadway-Bound?

The film earned three Oscar nominations, and composer Lin-Manuel Miranda thinks it has potential.

Disney's Encanto was nominated for three Academy Awards.
Disney's Encanto was nominated for three Academy Awards.
(© The Walt Disney Company)
Following yesterday's Academy Award nominations, which saw Disney's Encanto earning three Oscar nods – Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score and Best Original Song (for "Dos Oruguitas") – composer and lyricist Lin-Manuel Miranda has now spoken openly about the possibilities of a future stage adaptation.

During an interview with E! News, Miranda was questioned as to whether fans could expect to ever see the Madrigal family on Broadway: "I think it weirdly lends itself well," he commented. "They don't always, you know? Like, I can't picture a Moana Broadway musical. I don't know how you'd do the ocean."

"My first draft of the last song in the movie, "All of You," was like seven minutes long," he continued. "It was so late in production that they were like, 'Lin, we won't make the movie in time. You actually have to cut this down.' So I've got the Broadway finale like in the chamber."

Lin-Manuel Miranda was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Dos Oruguitas" in Encanto.
Lin-Manuel Miranda was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Dos Oruguitas" in Encanto.
(© Tricia Baron)

Whether that Broadway finale ever comes to pass lies squarely in the hands of Disney Theatrical, but having enjoyed successful stage hits from animated titles such as Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Frozen and, of course, The Lion King. With Tarzan and The Little Mermaid proving lucrative overseas, it could just be a matter of time.

With musical number "We Don't Talk About Bruno" hitting the No. 1 spot on the US Billboard Hot 100 charts – the first to do so in the 21st century – and becoming the only original Disney song to top the UK Singles Chart, coupled with the lack of Latino representation in Broadway musical history, the signs are looking positive.

Our partners across the pond, WhatsOnStage, spoke to Miranda and cast members of Encanto in the video below: