Following the success of Hamilton on Broadway, Lin-Manuel Miranda has found himself in demand in every conceivable corner of entertainment. Now, he's moving behind the camera. Lin-Manuela Miranda has agreed to direct his first feature film. Unsurprisingly, he's chosen a musical as his first foray into film directing. Tick, Tick...Boom is the autobiographical musical about the life of playwright Jonathan Larson, best known for creating the Broadway hit Rent. Miranda will direct and produce the film alongside Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.
Tick, Tick...Boom is set in 1990 and it follows Jonathan Larson as he waits tables and works on his new play Superbia. He's waiting for his big break, but as it doesn't seem to be coming, and his friend and roommate is in the process of giving up on his own dream, he begins to wonder if it's all worth it. In 2014 Lin-Manuela Miranda actually played the lead role in Tick, Tick...Boom and, according to Deadline, he credits the play with helping him find his own voice as a playwright. With a personal connection to the material like that, Miranda seems like the perfect choice to direct the film adaptation.
Not to spoil the ending, but Jonathan Larson did end up writing a massive Broadway hit, Rent, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1996. Unfortunately, Larson never saw the play's success, as he passed away just before the show's first preview performances.
The new directing gig is just one of many projects that Lin-Manuel Miranda currently has going. He'll be seen in front of the camera later this year when he stars alongside Emily Blunt in Disney's Mary Poppins Returns. He's also producing a new film and television series based on Patrick Rothfuss' The Kingkiller Chronicles. In addition, Miranda's play Into the Heights is currently being adapted itself into a feature film. He's also about to return to play the lead in Hamilton for a special engagement of the musical in Puerto Rico that will help raise money for Hurricane Maria relief. He's busy, is what I'm saying.
While directing a movie musical isn't going to be exactly like creating one for the stage, one assumes that Lin-Manuel Miranda's talent for the latter will be of great service to the former. There's no denying the man is an insane talent and at this point, it's probably best that we all just assume he can do anything until such time as he proves otherwise.
Tick, Tick...Boom is in the very early stages right now, Dear Evan Hanson writer Steven Levenson is currently working on the screenplay, so it will be a while before Lin-Manuel Miranda goes behind the camera, but musicals have been doing well recently, so perhaps Miranda will help create another massive hit very soon.
