The new decade brings us much to look forward to on the movie musical front, with many movie musicals scheduled to hit the big screen within the next year or so. Perhaps one of the most highly-anticipated movie adaptations is Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, which was originally scheduled for a June 2020 release. However, about a month ago, in light of the pandemic situation, Lin-Manuel announced that the release of the movie would be postponed, though no date was given.
Director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) took to Twitter on Tuesday to spread the word about the new release date: June 18, 2021. He emphasized the importance of people feeling comfortable celebrating the new film together, in movie theatres. In the meantime, the trailer for the movie was released at the end of 2019, and it will have to hold us over until we can finally see the movie in theatres.
The story of In the Heights follows the residents of Washington Heights, a Manhattan neighborhood under the threat of disappearing, over the course of about three days. The movie began filming in the summer of 2019 and features Anthony Ramos (Usnavi), Melissa Barrera (Vanessa), Stephanie Beatriz (Carla), Gregory Diaz IV (Sonny), Leslie Grace (Nina), Corey Hawkins (Benny), Olga Merediz (Abuela Claudia), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Daniela), and more. Lin-Manuel Miranda himself will also appear in the film in the role of Mr. Piragüero.
In the Heights originally opened on Broadway in 2008, winning the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical features a book by Quiara Alegria Hudes and a score by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton). Miranda, Mandy Gonzalez, Christopher Jackson, Karen Olivo, Olga Merediz, Carlos Gomez, Priscilla Lopez, Robin de Jesus, Andrea Burns, Janet Decal, Seth Stewart, and Eliseo Roman made up the original cast, directed by Thomas Kail and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler.