The musical films to get excited about, from West Side Story to In The Heights

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Zoe Paskett23 January 2020

Musical movies are the pinnacle of cinematic majesty. The glitz, the glamour, the completely over-the-top reactions to insignificant life events – what’s not to love?

Singin’ in the Rain, Guys and Dolls, The Wizard of Oz and Meet Me In St Louis are all undisputed classics now. Still, it’s “cool” to be sniffy about musicals, isn’t it?

Except, it’s actually not cool at all. The response to films like The Greatest Showman, Les Miserables and Mamma Mia has proven that musicals are the best, and the public agrees. (File Cats under a different tab in your brain, for example: “films that make you want to gouge your eyes out” or “films that make a strong case for cancelling cinema entirely").

We are very, very, very excited about some of the musical movies in development, and the rumours we’ve heard. So here’s what you can expect to see on the silver screen soon.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

It’s been from screen to stage and now back again. The hit musical about a teenage boy who dreams of being a drag queen was inspired by a BBC documentary. The excitement for the film began when Richard E Grant uploaded a video of himself practising the art of walking in heels for his role as Loco Chanelle. Newcomer Max Harwood was plucked from an open casting call to make Jamie his first professional role, with Sharon Horgan as his school teacher Miss Hedge and Sarah Lancashire as his mother.

Release date: October 23, 2020

In The Heights

It might be a while before we get a fully filmed version of Hamilton (though footage of the original Broadway cast is knocking around somewhere). But another offering from Lin-Manuel Miranda looks set to be just as much of a triumph. Directed by Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker Jon M Chu, the movie takes place in Washington Heights and is based on the 13-time Tony Award-nominated Broadway musical. Its lead will be Anthony Ramos, who also starred with Miranda in the original cast of Hamilton. If the trailer is anything to go by, this will be sensational.

Release date: August 7, 2020

West Side Story

Rita Moreno – objectively the best thing about the original 1961 film – is returning for Stephen Spielberg’s version of West Side Story. She’ll play the part of Valentina, a re-conceived version of store-owner Doc, alongside Ansel Elgort’s Tony. Rachel Zegler, a teenager with a killer voice, was picked from 30,000 at auditions to play Maria. Two teenagers with connections to warring gangs, the Puerto Rican Sharks and the white Jets, fall in love.

Release date: December 18, 2020

Merrily We Roll Along

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Richard Linklater spent 12 years making his coming of age Boyhood. Pah, that’s nothing! He’s now dedicating 20 years to an adaptation of Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, a musical that tells a story in reverse about a songwriter blinded by the bright lights of showbiz losing his friends and family. Ben Platt, Beanie Feldstein and Blake Jenner have all signed onto the two-decade-long project. Let’s hope no-one gets cold feet.

Release date: Around 2040

Wicked

One of the world’s favourite musicals has been bound for the screen for some time. Last year, Billy Elliot director Stephen Daldry confirmed that he would be directing the film, with the help of screenwriter Winnie Holsman and prolific composer Stephen Schwarz. Wicked was supposed to be released in 2019, but guess which other musical adaptation crept in to steal the limelight? You got it, Cats. We can only hope Wicked will be more...Popular (sorry).

Release date: December 22, 2021

Fun Home

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Fun Home deserved so much more (please join the campaign to bring this astounding musical back). While we wait for a West End transfer, Jake Gyllenhaal is helping to bring it to the screen. He will reportedly be playing Alison Bechdel’s dad in Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori’s adaptation of her autobiographical graphic novel. The musical – the first to feature a lesbian protagonist – won seven Tony Awards and tells an incredibly moving story about sexuality, family relationships and internalised homophobia. Director Sam Gold will also be working on the film.

Release date: TBC

Matilda

Revolting children everywhere assemble for this one. Songwriter Tim Minchin and director Matthew Warchus started talking about this film four years ago, but now the word on the street is that filming will take place later this year. A casting call has gone out searching for the titular superpowered character. The movie will be produced by Working Title – the same production company responsible for Billy Elliot and Les Misérables.

Released: TBC

Dear Evan Hansen

Matthew Murphy

The original creative team are reuniting for this one: Steven Levenson, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul bring their emotional rollercoaster to the big screen. There has been some speculation that Ben Platt might star (after all, the 26-year-old is still playing a teenager in The Politician), but that’s not been confirmed. We’d back the UK star Sam Tutty for the part – he’s smashing it in the West End at the moment.

Release date: TBC

Follies

Another Sondheim is in the works. Dominic Cooke, who directed the much acclaimed 2017 National Theatre revival of Follies starring Imelda Staunton, has signed on for a movie. It was this production that convinced Sondheim it was ready for movie fame. He said: “Over the years, there have been many attempts to bring ‘Follies’ to the screen, but not until Dominic Cooke’s brilliant production at the National Theatre of Great Britain did it seem like it could be a real movie.” There’s no cast yet, but we’d give anything to see Staunton back in the role.

Release date: TBC

Come From Away

(Matthew Murphy)

The stranded plane passengers of flights redirected to Newfoundland after 9/11 are taken in by the local residents: this true story is made for the silver screen. Creators Irene Sankoff and David Hein, nominated for a Tony for their book, will write the screenplay, with Christopher Ashley directing. The plan is to actually film the whole movie in the place where it all happened, so it’ll be as close to the real thing as it’s possible to get.

Release date: TBC

The Color Purple

Cynthia Erivo led the 2015 Broadway production of The Color Purple to Tony Award success. Now, the production team Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones and Scott Sanders are bringing it to the big screen, and bringing a friend – Stephen Spielberg is getting involved as well. He directed the `985 film adaptation of Alice Walker’s novel, which saw Winfrey nominated for an Oscar. Perhaps the now Academy Award-nominated Erivo will be lending her enviable talents to this project?

Release date: TBC

Guys and Dolls

Guys and Dolls will be back to rock the boat. Production company TriStar Pictures has acquired the rights to not only the musical but the 1955 Brando/Sinatra film version as well. There was talk a few years ago of Michael Grandage directing Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a film version, but we’re not sure what happened to that. Hang in there for more information about the cast and team.

Release date: TBC

And we’ve heard tell...

  • Glenn Close has teased a starring role in Sunset Boulevard

  • Marvelous Mrs Maisel creator Amy Sherman-Palladino is in talks to direct a new screen incarnation of Sondheim’s Gypsy

  • Sony announced a Beautiful musical about the life of Carole King with Tom Hanks producing, but there has been no update since 2015

  • Andrew Lloyd Webber could be teaming up with Elton John for an animated version of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

  • Producers are said to have fallen over themselves to be involved with a movie of Be More Chill, which is the West End’s latest Broadway transfer

New London musicals coming in 2020

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