An eagerly anticipated film of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s landmark Broadway musical Hamilton has been fast-tracked for digital release.
The Disney+ streaming service has brought forward the launch by more than a year to 3 July, just before Independence Day weekend. The decision was made “in light of the world turning upside down”, said Miranda, quoting one of the lyrics to his songs.
The production of the sensational, Pulitzer prize-winning musical, recorded at the Richard Rodgers theatre in New York with the original Broadway cast in 2016, had been due for a cinema release in October 2021.
It gives “everyone who watches this film the best seat in the house”, said the composer, who stars as the US founding father Alexander Hamilton in the show, which won 11 Tony awards. The film is directed by Thomas Kail, who staged the musical.
On announcing the news, Miranda tweeted: “Never been so happy/nervous in my life”, while his wife, lawyer Vanessa Nadal, shared a “sneaky photo” of him waiting to make the announcement on Twitter and said: “He woke up like a jolt of energy (more than usual) and could not keep still!”
Robert A Iger, executive chairman of the Walt Disney Company, said that with the “extraordinary challenges facing our world, this story about leadership, tenacity, hope, love and the power of people to unite against the forces of adversity is both relevant and impactful”.
