The stage-to-screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegría Hudes’ In the Heights will hit movie theatres and HBO Max on the same day in 2021. The Warner Bros. film, currently slated for June 18, is one of over a dozen the Hollywood giant plans to roll out on multiple platforms next year.
In the Heights, Dune, The Matrix 4, The Suicide Squad, and others will remain on HBO Max for 31 days following its same-day release as theatres. The one-year plan was developed to handle audiences as the pandemic rages on into the new year.
The film was originally set to be released June 26 of this year. Directed by Jon M. Chu and featuring a screenplay by Hudes, the In the Heights movie features a cast made up of Anthony Ramos as Usnavi, Corey Hawkins as Benny, Melissa Barrera as Vanessa, Leslie Grace as Nina, Olga Merediz as Abuela Claudia, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Daniela, Stephanie Beatriz as Carla, Dascha Polanco as Cuca, Gregory Diaz IV as Sonny, Marc Antony as Sonny's father, Jimmy Smits as Kevin Rosario, and Noah Catala as Graffiti Pete.
Miranda, who also produces, plays Piraguero, the Washington Heights local who sells flavored ice from a cart.
Miranda's musical about a tight-knit community in Washington Heights ran for six months Off-Broadway in 2007 before subsequently transferring to Broadway, where it had a Tony-winning run at the Richard Rodgers Theatre February 2008–2011. The show was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
