Broadway fans have been holding out hope that the 11-time Tony Award-, Grammy Award-, Olivier Award-, and Pulitzer Prize-winning stage musical Hamilton would make its way to the big screen since it premiered in February 2015. Well, Disney finally decided it’s not throwing away its shot and is bringing a film version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s history-making musical, with the original Broadway cast, to theaters on Oct. 15, 2021!
“Lin-Manuel Miranda created an unforgettable theater experience and a true cultural phenomenon, and it was for good reason that Hamilton was hailed as an astonishing work of art,” Robert A. Iger, chairman and chief executive officer of the Walt Disney Company, said in a statement. “All who saw it with the original cast will never forget that singular experience. And we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to share this same Broadway experience with millions of people around the world.”
The film is described as “a leap forward in the art of ‘live capture,'” and combines live theater and film. Hamilton director Thomas Kail — who will serve as producer alongside Disney and Miranda — filmed the stage show at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre before the original cast members began to depart. So, along with Miranda, fans will see Tony winners Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler, and Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, as well as Tony nominees Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, and Jonathan Groff as King George. Rounding out the principal company are Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds, Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison, and Anthony Ramos (who also stars in the upcoming film adaptation of Miranda’s In the Heights) as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.
“I’m so proud of what Tommy Kail has been able to capture in this filmed version of Hamilton — a live theatrical experience that feels just as immediate in your local movie theater,” Miranda said in a statement, along with a Twitter post announcing the film. “We’re excited to partner with Disney to bring the original Broadway company of Hamilton to the largest audience possible.”
We can’t wait to be in the screening room where this premiere finally happens!