What we know about Netflix's tick, tick… BOOM! 💥
The film marks Lin-Manuel Miranda's feature directorial debut
Last updated 26th Oct 2021
2021 is proving to be a golden year for movie musicals with plenty of exciting film adaptations on the way and one of them is tick, tick… BOOM! The film is based on the semi-autobiographical musical of the same name by RENT composer, Jonathan Larson - who will be played by Andrew Garfield.
The film also marks the directorial debut of Lin-Manuel Miranda adding to his wide range of work. So join us as we dive into everything you need to know about this upcoming movie musical including the plot, cast and a whole lot more.
What is tick, tick… BOOM! about?
The film is set in 1990 and follows a composer called Jon (Andrew Garfield), who's spending his time waiting tables but he dreams of writing the next great American musical. Ahead of a performance that could change everything for him he begins to feel the pressure from all ends.
His girlfriend Susan (Alexandra Shipp) seeks an artistic life beyond New York City, his best friend Michael (Robin de Jesús) has given up on his artistic ambitions and opted for financial security and the artistic community is currently being ravaged by the AIDS crisis. Jon finds himself wondering what he should be doing with his life before he runs out of time.
Who's in the cast?
Andrew Garfield as Jon
Andrew is best known for his portrayal of Peter Parker / Spider-Man in the Amazin Spider-Man films he's also appeared in the films Mainstream and The Eyes of Tammy Faye. On the stage Andrew played Prior Walter in the National Theatre's 2017 revival of Angels in America.
Vanessa Hudgens as Karessa
Vanessa rose to fame as Gabriella in Disney's High School Musical film series she's also appeared in a couple of live TV musicals including Grease Live! as Rizzo and Rent: Live as Maureen.
Alecandra Shipp as Susan
Alexandra is best known for her portrayal of Ororo Munroe / Storm in the later films of the X-Men franchise as well as playing Abby in Love, Simon.
Bradley Whitford as Stephen Sondheim
Emmy award winner Bradley has appeared in several successful TV series including The West Wing, Transparent and The Handmaid's Tale.
Judith Light as Rosa Stephens
Judith may be most recognisable to UK audiences as Claire Meade from Ugly Betty which aired on Channel 4 in the UK. Her other TV work includes Transparent, The Politician and American Crime Story.
She also has two Tony Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Play for Other Desert Cities and The Assembled Parties.
Joshua Henry as Roger
Joshua was in the ensemble for the original off-Broadway and Broadway production of In the Heights, he received a Tony nomination for his role as Haywood Patterson in The Scottsboro Boys. Joshua played Aaron Burr in the Chicago and first US touring productions of Hamilton.
Robin de Jesús as Michael
Robin was the original Sonny in In the Heights from its 2005 run in Waterford to its Broadway production. He was Jacob in the 2010 Broadway revival of La Cage Aux folles and has played Boq in Wicked both on Broadway and during its second US tour. Robin recently appeared in Netflix's adaptation of The Boys in the Band.
Joel Grey as Allan Larson
Joel Grey has a vast career on stage and screen over the past 70 years. He's best known for originating the role of the Master of Ceremonies in Cabaret - a role he went on to play in the film's 1972 film adaptation. He played the Wizard when Wicked first opened on Broadway in 2003 and played "Moonface" Martin in the 2011 Broadway revival of Anything Goes.
Also appearing is Richard Kind, Michaela Jaé (MJ) Rodriguez, Joanna Adler, Noah Robbins, Beth Malone, Tariq Trotter, Alex D. Jennings, Kate Rockwell, Mason Versaw and Ben Ross.
Who is directing the tick, tick… BOOM! movie?
The film adaptation will mark the feature directorial debut of In The Heights and Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda. When speaking about the the musical Lin said: “tick, tick…BOOM! is a corner of the world I know from every angle.
“I know what it’s like to be a struggling songwriter. I know what it is to be in your 20s writing that one musical, what it’s like to be in New York with a bunch of friends with artistic dreams and then watch them drop off one by one, to real life, while you’re still hanging on.
“It’s a story of doubling down on your craft in the face of impossible odds, which is not unique to musical theatre — it’s the struggle of any artist trying to make a living doing the thing they love.”
WATCH: tick, tick… BOOM! official trailer
Who wrote tick, tick… BOOM!?
Jonathan Larson was the man behind tick, tick… BOOM!, he wrote the show as a 'rock monologue' in the early 1990s performing it in Off-off-Broadway venues. The musical the Jonathan Larson is best known for was RENT which was loosely based on Giacomo Puccini's La Bohéme where it saw a group of young artist friends living in Lower Manhattan's East Village in the late 1980s who deal with homelessness, love, and the AIDS crisis.
On the morning of 25th January 1996, the same day as RENT's opening night Off-Broadway, Jonathan passed away at his home after suffering an aortic dissection. He never got to see the huge success that RENT became including a 12 year run on Broadway, a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for Best Musical.
Following Jonathan's death, his friend and producer of tick, tick… BOOM! Victoria Leacock asked Pulitzer Prize-winner David Auburn to look at the script. David restructured the show's monologue format to be a for three actors instead. This version premiered Off-Broadway in 2001.
The screenplay for the film adaptation is written by Steven Levenson who wrote the book for Dear Evan Hansen as well as the screenplay for its film adaptation.
When will tick, tick… BOOM! be released?
The film adaptation of tick, tick… BOOM! will be released in select UK cinemas in November and will arrive on Netflix on Friday 19th November 2021.
tick, tick… BOOM!: Soundtrack
The soundtrack is set to be released along with the film's theatrical release on 12th November. The songs '30/90' and 'Louder Than Words' have already been released. Another song we should expect to hear in the film is the song 'Sunday' which Jonathan Larson wrote paying homage to Stephen Sondheim's song of the same name from Sunday in the Park with George.
LISTEN: Andrew Garfield sings '30/90' from tick, tick… BOOM!
Will there be any new songs?
Full details of the film's soundtrack aren't known but it has been common practice for film adaptations of musicals to add a new song to mix and with the film having a bigger cast it seems very likely.
Here are some more movie musicals on the way:
The Little Mermaid
Disney are back with another reimagining of one of their classic animations. This live-action version of The Little Mermaid will star Halle Bailey as Ariel, Hamilton's Daveed Diggs as Sebastian, and Bridesmaids' Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.
The film will be directed by Rob Marshall who has directed other brilliant musical adaptations including Chicago and Into the Woods. Howard Ashman and Alan Menken's music from the original will be featured as well as some new music written by Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
The Little Mermaid will be arriving in UK cinemas on 26th May 2023.
The Color Purple
The musical adaptation of Alice Walker's The Color Purple is set to be turned into a film by Warner Brothers. So far In the Height's Corey Hawkins and singer/songwriter H.E.R are set to star in the film which will be directed by Black is King's Blitz Bazawule.
The Color Purple is expected to be released in December 2023.
Snow White
Another classic to get a live action remake is Disney's first ever animated feature film, Snow White. West Side Story star Rachel Zegler is playing the titular role with Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot set to play the Evil Queen.
While we expect songs from the original 1937 film to be included, there will also be new music from Dear Evan Hansen and The Greatest Showman composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
Snow White is set to arrive in cinemas in March 2024.
Wicked
We can't have a list of upcoming movie musicals without talking about the Wicked movie. Stephen Schwartz's musical telling the untold story of the witches of Oz has been a worldwide smash hit since the show opened on Broadway all the way back in 2003.
Now despite plenty of delays, the film going ahead. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande will lead the film as Elphaba and Glinda. In the Heights and Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu is directing the film.
Filming is currently underway and the adaptation will be released in two parts released during the festive periods of 2024 and 2025.
Spamalot
Spamalot, the hilarious musical adaptation of the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail in the works at Paramount. A lot of the development is complete with a screenplay written by Monty Python's very own Eric Idle.
The film adaptation will be directed by Casey Nicholaw, who choreographed the original Broadway production of Spamalot as well as working as a director and choreographer on many notable productions such as the Broadway productions of The Book of Mormon, Mean Girls, and the recent West End revival of Dreamgirls.
We haven't heard anything since January 2021 but work on the film was supposed to have started by the end of last year.
Sunset Boulevard
The iconic musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black is one that's been in the pipeline for quite some time, approximately two decades in fact! The film has faced multiple hurdles over the years which still seem to be continuing.
Glenn Close, who starred as Norma Desmond in the original Broadway production in 1994 as well as the West End and Broadway revivals in 2016 and 2017 respectively, was set to produce the film and reprise her role again once more. When speaking to Vogue magazine last year, she said: "We're just waiting for an absolute green light" and that she hoped to start filming that summer.
But our dreams were dashed and this plan did not go ahead with Paramount stalling production. Andrew Lloyd Webber said: "Paramount has not wanted to go ahead with it". So all we can do now is hope that we can do now is hope they change their mind.
Merrily We Roll Along
Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's 1981 musical Merrily We Roll Along will be getting the movie treatment – the long way round. The musical is based on George S. Kaufman's play of the same name and tells the story of three friends over the course of 20 years, starting at the end and heading backwards in time.
Richard Linklater will be writing and directing the film and he will be returning to the technique he used for Boyhood, where the film will be filmed in real-time across the two decades. So don't expect to be seeing this film until the 2040s. The film is set to star Dear Evan Hansen's Ben Platt, Beanie Feldstein (who's about to lead Funny Girl on Broadway) and Blake Jenner (What/If, Glee).
Mean Girls
In 2018, a musical adaptation of Tina Fay's iconic film, Mean Girls opened on Broadway with music and lyrics by Jeff Richmond and Nell Benjamin. The show was a hit and earned Tina Fey a Tony nomination for the show's book. Now a new film adapted from the musical is in the works with Tina Fey at the helm. The film will be directed by husband-wife team Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne.
In 2022 it was announced that Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Auli'i Cravalho, and Jaquel Spivey will play Cady, Regina, Janis, and Damian, respectively. No release date has been announced as of yet but the film has begun production and it's set to be released on Paramount+.
A Chorus Line
Possibly one of the most fascinating projects on this list, Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story, The Prom) is working on a new adaptation of A Chorus Line. This new take on the iconic Broadway musical will not be another film version like the one that came out in 1985. Instead, we'll be getting a miniseries that will also explore the musical's creative process.
The show was developed after a group of Broadway dancers came together and shared their stories onto some tapes. When speaking to Deadline in 2020, Ryan said: "I got the rights to all of those interviews. I have all of those tapes. I have all of that material about how was 'What I Did For Love,' what is that about? How was 'Dance: Ten, Looks: Three?'"
There is no release date yet, but we do know that it will be heading for Netflix when it is released.
Once on This Island
Once on this Island is an adaptation of the 1985 novel titled My Love, My Love; or, The Peasant Girl by Rosa Guy. The musical, with music and lyrics by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens recently had a successful revival on Broadway and is now set for a film adaptation to be released on Disney+.
The screenplay will be written by playwright Jocelyn Bioh with notable plays such as School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, and The Ladykiller's Love Story. The film will be directed by Africa Movie Academy Award-winner Wanuri Kahiu.
Follies
Another Sondheim musical heading for the big screen is Follies which has a book by James Goldman and first opened in 1971. We know very little about this adaptation, but production company Heyday Films have said that a script is "in active development". It wouldn't be the first time the musical's been on the big screen, the National Theatre's 2017 revival was filmed and released in UK cinemas.
Little Shop of Horrors
A new movie adaptation of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman's Little Shop of Horrors is in the works. The musical is based on the 1960 film of the same name and is about a florist who discovers a plant that needs human blood to survive. This adaptation of the musical would be the second after Frank Oz' 1986 version.
There's limited casting information but Billy Porter (Pose, Cinderella) will play the role of the carnivorous plant Audrey II. Roumoured casting includes Rocketman's Taron Egerton as Seymour, and Marvel Cinematic Universe alumni Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans as Audrey and her dentist boyfriend Orin Scrivello.
The last we heard of this production was in early 2020 before the pandemic hit so don't expect to see this too soon.
Bare: A Pop Opera
Bare captured the hearts of many young musical theatre fans which its story of two schoolboys who fall in love but struggle to confront who they are. The musical quickly became a beloved musical for its LGBT+ storyline.
In 2018 it was announced that the director of the original Los Angeles and New York productions, Kristin Hanggi would write and direct a movie adaptation of the show. At the time of writing there hasn't been an update on the project since the announcement but we're still holding out hope that we'll get one!
Be More Chill
Based on the 2004 novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini, Be More Chill tells the story of a teenage boy who takes a pill containing a tiny computer that will change his behaviour to make him popular. The show became a recent hit in recent years having transferred to Broadway and the West End. In 2018, it was announced that a film adaptation was in the works with distribution rights secured by 20th Century Studios.
Spring Awakening
Now we have very little info on this one however there looks like there could be a Spring Awakening movie in the pipeline. While rumours of a film have been floating around for about a decade, the musical's writer Steven Sater tweeted in 2020 that there could be some progress on the project.
However, we're not getting our hopes up just yet as this one still looks to be a long way away.
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