Film Adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘In the Heights’ Gets Summer 2020 Release Date
The journey of the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical In the Heights just hit a huge milestone. What was once a project that went from Universal Studios to the Weinstein Company will now be released on June 26, 2020, under Warner Bros. The studio just recently won the bidding war for the project on May 17. The Weinstein Company lost ownership of the project last fall after Harvey Weinstein’s reputation was finally ruined due to sexual misconduct scandals. Universal once had the project set with Miranda to star (as he did on Broadway) with Kenny Ortega to direct, but those plans never saw fruition.
Miranda via Jesse Dittmar/Redux
Anyone who does not know who Miranda is by now has probably been secluded from society for the past few years. He first rose to stardom by creating and starring in the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights. His follow up, Hamilton, has also won many prestigious awards and has only quadrupled his status in the Musical theater field. Even if one does not pay attention to musical theater, they have probably heard some of Miranda’s work in film. He worked on and lent his vocals to the music of Disney’s Moana. He composed and can be heard on a piece from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The piece, Jabba Flow, is quite catchy and can be heard in Maz Kanata’s castle. He has also teased his involvement in an eventual live-action adaptation of Disney’s The Little Mermaid.
In the Heights tells the story of a New York bodega owner from Washington Heights who plans to retire in the Dominican Republic after his family wins the lottery. This simple idea turns into something much more complex when he realizes that leaving home is more complicated than it sounds. It is currently unclear if Miranda will play the lead role in the film as he did on Broadway. However, he is officially onboard as a producer. Jon Chu who is best known for his work on Crazy Rich Asians is currently attached to direct. Fox currently has an untitled Marvel film set for the same release date, but it is safe to assume that the studio might reconsider this move due to the popularity of this project. One should not underestimate fans of musical theater.
How excited are you for In the Heights? For those unfamiliar with the musical, will you start listening to the music or go into the film clean? Let us know on social media and stay tuned for more updates on this film and every project with Miranda’s name attached to it.
Source: Variety
