Disney has officially announced an agreement for the worldwide distribution rights to bring the 11-time Tony Award-, Grammy Award-, Olivier Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning stage musical “Hamilton” to the silver screen.
The film version of “Hamilton,” shot during a performance of the show in 2016, will be released by The Walt Disney Studios in the U.S. and Canada on Oct. 15, 2021.
“I fell in love with musical storytelling growing up with the legendary Howard Ashman-Alan Menken Disney collaborations — ‘The Little Mermaid,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast,’ ‘Aladdin,'” said Lin-Manuel Miranda. “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. We’re excited to partner with Disney to bring the original Broadway company of ‘Hamilton’ to the largest audience possible.”
This film will transport audiences into the world of the Broadway show in a unique way, combining the best elements of live theater and film. The original Broadway cast will appear in the film, including Tony Award winners Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton; Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson; Renée Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler; Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr; Tony Award nominees Christopher Jackson as George Washington; Jonathan Groff as King George; Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton; Jasmine Cephas Jones as Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds; Okieriete Onaodowan as Hercules Mulligan/James Madison; and Anthony Ramos as John Laurens/Philip Hamilton.
“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. All who saw it with the original cast will never forget that singular experience,” said Bob Iger, chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company. “And we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to share this same Broadway experience with millions of people around the world.”
Take a look at the original “Hamilton” cast in the video below:
Can’t wait to see this. Ironically, we’re finally getting to see a LIVE touring production of it (in Vancouver, Canada) in June of 2021……three months before it’s on screen, lol! Talk about timing.
Great to see that this ground-breaking musical will be made available to a bigger audience. But a filmed version of the stage show will probably kill the demand to see it live. The new younger audiences waiting to see it on stage re-invigorated a theatre-going mindset for a new generation. I was hoping there was a real movie version in the works– like Lin Manuel’s “In the Heights” — that might add to the narrative and not just video the stage performance.