Hamilton’s creator and star Lin-Manuel Miranda might be leaving his beloved show this summer to work on other projects.
The Hollywood Reporter is citing sources close to the production who say Lin-Manuel Miranda plans to leave Hamilton on July 9. By that time the star will have played Hamilton in the room where it happens for over 18 months (not including their rehearsal period).
The proof may’ve been in the pudding for some time: His longer-than-usual run in the production aside, Miranda has been lining up several other projects, including a co-starring role in Disney’s Mary Poppins Returns. THR also says the Hamilton star has “seeds of an idea for a new musical.” Meanwhile, he’s working on the music for Disney’s next animated film, Moana.
The news comes as other prominent cast members begin to negotiate new contracts with pay raises and backend deals, according to THR.
Speaking of Hamilton, in a new interview with Rolling Stone, Miranda said this week it would be “like, 20 years” before we’ll be seeing a Hamilton movie. “The thing is, we worked really hard to make this work as a piece of theater. And I get it – I get it 50 times a day: ‘Please film it! Please film it so we can watch it!’ And I understand it’s hard to get to New York and it’s hard to get a Broadway ticket. At the same time, filming is an act of translation. It is not being in the room with us. It’s different. You will get the forest, you will not get the trees,” he said.
Whenever it hits the big screen, hopefully Miranda will star. Especially now that many people who have tickets after July will be sad to learn that they won’t be seeing the creator live on stage.
In the same Rolling Stone piece Miranda hinted that the end of his Hamilton run may be imminent:
So do you know how much longer you want to be performing this?
Everyone is sort of in it now. The question couldn’t come at a worse time, because literally every actor is in their contract negotiations right now. We were all contracted through July. It was a year contract. So I don’t know who’s staying and who’s going. Who tells our story [laughs]. Article Continues BelowBut you, personally, haven’t made up your mind yet?
I don’t know that I want to break the news here. But I can tell you that with In the Heights, I did a year. I did a year and got out. And that show was as successful and joyous as anything I’ve ever done. But I still needed time to write, and so I did a year.
While news of Miranda’s departure is sad, there is this good bit of news: It’s quite possible that his understudy, Javier Muñoz, will take over. Interestingly, Muñoz was tasked with leading the show when the Obamas attended last summer.
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