Following a heated bidding war, Netflix has walked away with the rights to “Tick, Tick… Boom,” a musical adaptation to be directed by “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Sources say Andrew Garfield is the top choice to star, though no deal is done.
“Dear Evan Hansen” writer Stephen Levenson adapting the script based on the original stage show by the late “Rent” creator Jonathan Larson. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard and Julie Oh of Imagine Entertainment are producing along with Miranda. Julie Larson and Levenson are executive producing.
“Tick, Tick… Boom!” is set in 1990 and tells the story of Jon, an aspiring theater composer who is waiting tables in New York City while writing Superbia — which he hopes will be the next great American musical and finally give him his big break. Jon is also feeling pressure from his girlfriend Susan, who is tired of continuing to put her life on hold for Jon’s career aspirations. Meanwhile, his best friend and roommate Michael, has given up on his creative aspirations for a high paying advertising job on Madison Avenue and is about to move out. As Jon approaches his 30th birthday, he is overcome with anxiety — wondering if his dream is worth the cost.
Related
Larson was the playwright behind “Rent,” the multiple award-winning musical, including the Tony for best musical in 1996. “Rent” was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1996, an honor Miranda’s “Hamilton” received in 2016. Only nine musicals have won the Pulitzer for drama. Larson tragically died the night before the show’s first preview performance Off-Broadway. “Rent” ultimately spent 12 years on the Great White Way, making it the 11th longest running show in Broadway history.
Miranda frequently sites Larson as a source of inspiration. The film marks Miranda’s feature film directing debut, having worked mainly on Broadway for the past two decades as the playwright behind such massive hits like “Hamilton” and “In the Heights.” A movie adaptation of “In the Heights,” Miranda’s first Tony-winning musical, is currently in the works at Warner Bros.
If a deal closes for Garfield to star, the role would be very timely for the actor, who is coming off his Tony-winning role in the “Angels in America” revival. Garfield also recently landed the role of Jim Bakker opposite Jessica Chastain in the Fox Searchlight pic “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”
Miranda was most recently seen opposite Emily Blunt in Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns.” He is repped by WME and Liebman Entertainment and Garfield is repped by CAA.