Here’s an up-and-coming director to look out for: some guy by the name of Lin-Manuel Miranda. A quick Google search reveals that he’s about to release his first film as director, having previously shown some promise in the world of theatre. His film is tick, tick… BOOM!, an adaptation of the autobiographical musical by Jonathan Larson – the creator of Rent who died aged 35, the night before his mega-hit musical originally hit the stage. It stars Andrew Garfield as the man himself, feeling the weight of time crashing down on him in early 1990s New York with his aspirations waiting to be realised, the AIDS crisis looming, and his talent about to burst into bloom. Check out the trailer here.
Jokes aside, Miranda is an absolute force in the musical sphere – and in a year that gave us an adaptation of his show In The Heights, his animated original Vivo on Netflix, and Disney’s Encanto still to come, tick, tick… BOOM! is another treat for Hamilton fans to lap up. If there’s any creative mind alive today who could get inside the mind of a musical theatre genius who writes like he’s running out of time, it’s Lin-Manuel Miranda – so it’ll be fascinating to see how he fares in his first film as director. Beyond Garfield, the cast includes Vanessa Hudgens, Alexandra Shopp, and Robin de Jesús.
If that trailer has whet your appetite, you can hear the first song from the soundtrack now – Andrew Garfield singing propulsive rock number ’30/90’, about the existential dread of turning 30. Listen here:
There’s just over a month until tick, tick… BOOM! hits the screen – it’s set to arrive in some cinemas from 12 November, before hitting Netflix on 19 November.