Lin-Manuel Miranda Hopes for Live-Action Remake of Lion King 1 ½, “It’s Low-key Great”

Mufasa: The Lion King isn’t even out yet, but the team behind the movie has no problem talking about what might come next. In an interview with ComicBook.com, composer Lin-Manuel Miranda seemed enthusiastic about the idea of a live-action remake of Lion King 1½. He praised the direct-to-video movie, perhaps prompting fans to give it another look.

Since Mufasa is both a sequel and a prequel to the 2019 version of The Lion King, it’s natural to discuss other spinoffs and remakes. Looking at the possibilities, Miranda said: “I’m holding out for a live-action remake of Lion King 1½. Because you know what, that’s the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of extended Lion King universe, and it’s low-key great!” For those unfamiliar, The Lion King 1½ was released straight to DVD in 2004. It showed Timon and Pumbaa in a movie theater in the foreground watching the movie along with the audience and giving commentary.

The Lion King 1½ tells the story of how Timon and Pumbaa met each other, revealing that their “Hakuna Matata” philosophy originated with Rafiki. Once together, it shows parts of the original movie from different angles, revealing that Timon and Pumbaa were often in the background or just off-screen. We see the time they spent raising Simba in a bit more detail, and finally reveals that Timon’s meerkat colony played a pivotal role in the final battle against the hyenas. It ends with Timon, Pumbaa and the meerkats finding a new home in the jungle.

[RELATED: Why Mufasa: The Lion King Director Almost Turned the Film Down]

The movie finds Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella reprising their roles as Timon and Pumbaa respectively, along with Matthew Broderick as Simba, Robert Guillaume as Rafiki, Moira Kelly as Nala and Whoopi Goldberg, Cheech Marin and Jim Cummings as the three hyenas. The movie built on the success of The Lion King’s Timon & Pumbaa – an animated series that aired on CBS from 1995 to 1999. It also included elements from The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, showing that the whole franchise was coordinating at the time.

There’s no telling if things like that are on the table for the photorealistic series Disney is building now. The company has never remade one of its direct-to-video sequels from the era, and in many ways Disney seems intent on letting those productions fade into history. Still, as Miranda joked, the company is very responsive to fans and what they want, so anything is possible.

Mufasa: The Lion King hits theaters on Friday, December 20th. Both version of The Lion King are streaming now on Disney+, along with The Lion King 1½, The Lion King’s Timon & Pumbaa, and other titles in the franchise.