Anna Daniels
Part of the fun of the new Star Wars trilogy has been the hidden cameos by A-list actors, either playing background roles or disguised as Stormtroopers. Why some names like Daniel Craig or even Prince William wanted to do this without even being recognized is proof of how influential Star Wars has become across the board.
With all these pop culture figures floating around the Star Wars set over the last five years, it somehow makes sense the now-iconic Lin-Manuel Miranda was considered for a small role. The rumors keep persisting he’ll have a small role in The Rise of Skywalker, though it seems even he’s not sure. Based on his social media feeds during filming, he at least had an opportunity to take part.
Lin-Manuel Miranda is becoming the pop culture figure who turns up in everything
Miranda’s role in Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns last year was already a major turn in his film career and one that set him up for further iconic status. Because Miranda created one of the most influential Broadway musicals of the 21st century with Hamilton, it’s earned him the right to pass through multiple pop culture projects and lend his talent or persona to each one.
If one can say Keanu Reeves is the true nomad of Hollywood, Miranda has become the same with virtually everything else, including Tinseltown. In the last year or two, he filmed Mary Poppins Returns, was involved with a major hurricane fundraising effort for Puerto Rico, produced Verdon/Fosse for FX Network, started work on a new movie musical adaptation of Into the Heights, and acted in His Dark Materials.
This only skims the surface when you consider all of the cameos Miranda has had, sometimes just showing up at important events. One of those moments was suddenly seeing him on the set of Rise of Skywalker earlier this year.
At the time, Miranda posted a picture of himself on an outdoor set, where he was given an official wardrobe for the scene in question. Even if he said he wasn’t in the film at the time, everyone assumed he was.
Did Lin-Manuel Miranda just keep a possible cameo under wraps?
Keeping secrets in the Star Wars movies is akin to operating as a CIA agent nowadays. Some have come up with ingenious methods to maintain those secrets, including Jon Favreau begging Disney to not put out Baby Yoda merch so the latter character could come out of nowhere in The Mandalorian.
Miranda may have had to do something similar after posting himself visiting the Rise of Skywalker filming location in Wales. What if he created the ultimate diversion in saying he wasn’t in the film when he actually will be?
All sources point to others like Ed Sheehan having an unknown cameo. Should Miranda play a character in Rise of Skywalker, what would he play? When placing logic behind his visit, why would J.J. Abrams go to all the trouble of fitting him in a Resistance costume if not intending to film him in a cameo?
Is it all enough now to just be a part of the Star Wars experience rather than be on film forever?
Lin-Manuel Miranda has already left an imprint on the new trilogy
Let’s not forget Miranda wrote music for the cantina scene featuring Maz Kanata in 2015’s The Force Awakens. Doing this helped him form a stronger bond with J.J. Abrams, which makes fans wonder if the latter will reward Miranda with a deserved cameo at last.
No matter if Miranda did film a cameo, it might still end up on the cutting room floor as so many other famous cameos have. For Miranda, it might not matter since just being on the set is a part of film history.
Just like other historical events, sometimes just being there has more meaning than forcing an appearance on film or video for posterity.
Written by: Cheat
