‘Star Wars’: J.J. Abrams Wrote Cantina Band Music With ‘Hamilton’ Creator Lin-Manuel Miranda

When it came to Star Wars, Lin-Manuel Miranda surely did not throw away his shot.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens director J.J. Abrams revealed on Monday’s Tonight Show that he and the Hamilton creator co-wrote new music for the upcoming installment’s “cantina band” scene, referencing the Mos Eisley Cantina from the original Star Wars film, Episode IV: A New Hope.

It all began with a bold pitch during intermission, said Abrams. “I go to see [Hamilton] with our son, and at intermission, Lin-Manuel Miranda — who wrote it, conceived it and normally stars in it, [but] he wasn’t in it that night — comes up to me. And my mind is blown because he’s so brilliant, and he says, ‘Hey, if you need music for the cantina, I’ll write it.’ ”

Abrams then thought, “Does he know?” Because it just so happened that film composer John Williams had told Abrams that he’d prefer not to handle the tunes for the new film’s nostalgic scene.

The Star Wars director then emailed Miranda to take him up on his offer — to which the Hamilton creator said, “I’ll drop everything!” — and the two then began to send each other music files. “It was nuts,” said Abrams of the collaboration. “We’ve never discussed this before, so he might kill me for revealing this!”

Miranda then noted on Twitter that he “worked on it between 6pm & 7:30 on 2 show days for the past 2 months. JJ is the best. Can’t wait to see.”

Related Stories

Related Story

'Hamilton's' Lin-Manuel Miranda on Finding Originality, Racial Politics (and Why Trump Should See His Show)

Watch the video below.