Twenty twenty-one will be the year marking Lin-Manuel Miranda’s film directorial debut. The Hamilton playwright and His Dark Materials actor will direct Netflix’s Tick, Tick… Boom!, an adaptation of a musical he starred in a few years ago.
Based on the autobiographical musical by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Jonathan Larson (Rent), the drama tells the story of an aspiring New York composer having second thoughts about his career choice. The film is one of a slate of new projects Netflix has for this year.
Miranda will share producer credit with acclaimed Hollywood filmmakers Brian Grazer, and Ron Howard, who directed Oscar-winning A Beautiful Mind. Also producing will be Julie Oh (The Spy Who Dumped Me, Hillbilly Elegy).
Tick, Tick…BOOM! takes place in the Big Apple of the 1990s where an aspiring theatre composer in his late 20s waits tables while writing what he hopes will be a successful American musical. Jon is about to turn 30 but his girlfriend is tired of supporting his dreams at the expense of her own. To make things worse, his roommate and best friend is leaving the creative world for a well-paid career in advertising.
Starring in the musical will be Andrew Garfield (The Social Network, The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Alexandra Shipp (X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Love, Simon), Vanessa Hudgens (Beastly, Spring Breakers), and Robin de Jesus (Camp, The Boys in the Band).
This will be the second time Miranda works on Tick, Tick…Boom! He starred in the off-Broadway revival of the musical in 2014. One year later, Miranda would star in Hamilton, his acclaimed Broadway musical hit that incorporates rap music and garnered 16 Tony Award nominations, winning for Best Musical, Leading actor original score and book. Also for writing the musical, Miranda won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. The Hamilton cast album also won a Grammy.
After Hamilton’s success, Miranda has expanded his film and television credits and the film Mary Poppins Returns. He has also contributed to movie soundtracks; Star Wars: Episode VII and Moana, for which Miranda received an Oscar nomination for the theme song. Currently he stars in the HBO dramatic series His Dark Materials.
Featured Photo: Hamilton Production
— Cesar Arredondo