Lin-Manuel Miranda dan Catherine Laga'aia Ungkap Proses Film Moana

Komposer Lin-Manuel Miranda dan aktris pendatang baru Catherine Laga'aia membagikan pengalaman mendalam mereka saat terlibat dalam proyek film live-action Moana garapan Disney yang resmi dirilis di bioskop pada Jumat, 10 Juli 2026.

Dilansir dari Yahoo, Miranda mengungkapkan bahwa proses penulisan musik untuk film animasi Moana versi tahun 2016 sangat membantunya tetap membumi di tengah tekanan popularitas saat ia membintangi drama musikal Hamilton di Broadway.

Musisi berusia 46 tahun tersebut mengerjakan sebagian besar lagu Moana di dalam ruang ganti teater, yang ia nilai menjadi penyelamat hidupnya karena memberikan tugas penulisan yang berbeda sehingga dirinya tetap rendah hati dan waras.

"It's not an accident those came so close together," kata Lin-Manuel Miranda, komposer film Moana kepada PEOPLE saat acara pemutaran film di New York pada Kamis, 9 Juli 2026.

"I was hired for Moana before Hamilton debuted. I wrote most of Moana in my dressing room at the Richard Rogers Theater. And so I think Moana saved my life," ujar Lin-Manuel Miranda.

"At a time when the world was putting a lot of attention on all of us, I think we all reacted to the pressure in different ways. I stayed grounded because I had songs due for Moana. I had to figure out how to get her beyond the reef," kata Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Miranda tidak terlibat dalam proyek Moana 2 karena proyek tersebut awalnya direncanakan sebagai serial televisi yang sudah memiliki tim penulis lagunya sendiri, yaitu duo Abigail Barlow dan Emily Bear.

"There was never an opportunity to be on Moana 2. That was a TV series that became a movie, and so they already had their songwriters," ujar Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Namun, sutradara Thomas Kail kembali mengajak Miranda untuk menulis lagu baru berjudul "Along the Way" dalam versi live-action guna menyatukan vokal Catherine Laga'aia, Auli'i Cravalho, dan Dwayne Johnson.

"Tommy and I are always working together, whether we're working on the same thing or not," kata Lin-Manuel Miranda.

"Tommy was like, you know, we're in a unique position in that two Moanas exist right now. And one of them is a producer on our film, and she's an incredibly talented adult," ujar Lin-Manuel Miranda menyiratkan ide sang sutradara.

"There are two people in the world who know what it feels like to play Moana, and one can give advice and pass the torch to the other," kata Lin-Manuel Miranda.

"Well, that's the song," ujar Lin-Manuel Miranda mengingat momen ketika dirinya langsung mendapatkan bait dan paduan suara lagu dalam beberapa jam setelah telepon tersebut.

Mengenai kelanjutan sekuel Moana 3 yang dikonfirmasi oleh Dwayne Johnson sedang dalam tahap produksi, Miranda merespons hal tersebut dengan nada bercanda.

"I say go make 10 Moana movies. I want Moana 3 to be called Tokyo Drift. I want Moana Hobbs and Shaw.

I want The Fate of Moana. Bring it on," kata Lin-Manuel Miranda berkelakar.

Sementara itu, pemeran utama live-action Moana, Catherine Laga'aia, merefleksikan debut film besarnya ini dengan menyadari statusnya yang kerap dilabeli sebagai anak artis atau nepo baby.

Aktris berusia 19 tahun tersebut mendapatkan peran utama dengan dukungan penuh dari ibunya serta sang ayah, Jay Laga'aia, yang dikenal luas sebagai pemeran Captain Typho dalam film prekuel Star Wars.

"I’m completely aware that I’m a nepo baby," kata Catherine Laga'aia, aktris utama Moana sambil tertawa kepada The Hollywood Reporter.

"I know that, so you can’t call me out on it because I already know it," ujar Catherine Laga'aia.

Dilansir dari Just Jared, Laga'aia membagikan salah satu nasihat terbesar dari ayahnya dalam menghadapi industri perfilman Hollywood, terutama mengenai mentalitas saat menjalani audisi peran.

"One of my dad’s biggest pieces of advice is that your job is the audition," kata Catherine Laga'aia.

"Your job is not the job. You don’t have that yet. So your job is whatever sides they gave you and whatever song they want you to sing. So that mentality of coming in and being like, ‘I’m going to give this every ounce of effort that I’ve got, I’m going to give this every piece of myself to try and put the best foot forward,’ essentially," ujar Catherine Laga'aia memungkasi penjelasan mengenai prinsip kerjanya.