Who wrote the music for Mufasa: The Lion King? Composer’s career and notable projects, explored

Mufasa: The Lion King takes the story of Mufasa forward.

The film is a sequel and prequel to 2019's The Lion King which itself was a remake of the namesake 1994 film. It was released by Walt Disney Studios on December 20, 2024.

Here's the official synopsis:

Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.

The soundtrack of the film has been considered by some to be the film's highlight. So let us take a look into the life of its composers, Dave Metzger and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Details about the composer of Mufasa: The Lion King

The original songs featured in Mufasa: The Lion King are written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, while Dave Metzger composed the score. Metzger was born on December 12, 1960, and he started his career in the 80s as an arranger for Maynard Ferguson, who was a Canadian jazz trumpeter.

In the mid-1990s, he served as an arranger of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He was also a part of the orchestra team on films like The Lion King, Armageddon, Kung Fu Panda and Captain America: First Avenger. Metzger has also performed in the Broadway orchestration of The Lion King, Frozen, and Up Here.

Metzger composed the scores for various films and television shows like The Magnificent Seven, Tarzan & Jane, and Wish, among others. Besides these, he has also composed scores for video games like You Don't Know Jack and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (additional music).

On the other hand, Lin-Manuel Miranda has previously written music for films like Moana, Encanto, and The Little Mermaid. Besides being a composer, Miranda has also directed and produced Tick, Tick... Boom!.

In an interview with Variety, Metzger spoke about stepping into the shoes of Hans Zimmer, who had composed the score for the original film. He said,

"Hans Zimmer’s score was just iconic, so you have to acknowledge that. It wouldn’t be fair to the film if I hadn’t gone there. But the toughest part was trying to figure out how much of the original score to use to make sure that everybody knew that we were in this world. However, when talking with Barry Jenkins, he wanted this to have its voice and identity. So, it was about coming up with themes."

He added,

"In the case of Rafiki, I came up with a new theme for him that hadn’t existed before. I gave him a voice he hadn’t had in the original film. I’ve also got to be using Lin’s themes in the score, because you’re doing a disservice if you don’t do that — not only to the audience but to the film itself. So, it’s a matter of looking at where best to utilize those. A great example is “I’ve Always Wanted a Brother.” I was able to change that throughout the film and add another level of depth to their character and relationship."

More about Mufasa: The Lion King

Mufasa: The Lion King was directed by Barry Jenkins and written by Jeff Nathanson. This photorealistic animated film was produced by Mark Ceryak and Adele Romanski. The film was released on December 20, 2024.