Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights will sing in 2021 instead of this Summer

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

Warner Bros. has announced that Lin-Manuel Miranda's IN THE HEIGHTS will be given plenty of time to break in its dancing shoes, as the film is officially moving to a June 18, 2021 release. The film adaptation based on Miranda's hit Broadway musical was originally expected to sing in theaters on June 26 of this year, though due to complications brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Warners has made some modifications to the anticipated project's theatrical dance card.

Directed by CRAZY RICH ASIANS helmer Jon M. Chu, IN THE HEIGHTS looks to bring the magic of Miranda's four-time Tony Award-winning musical to the silver screen. According to the studio's official description, IN THE HEIGHTS lights up on Washington Heights, where the scent of a cafecito caliente hangs in the air just outside of the 181st Street subway stop, where a kaleidoscope of dreams rallies this vibrant and tight-knit community. At the intersection of it all is the likable, magnetic bodega owner Usnavi (Anthony Ramos), who saves every penny from his daily grind as he hopes, imagines and sings about a better life.

In addition to Ramos, IN THE HEIGHTS also stars BROOKLYN NINE-NINE's Stephanie Beatriz as Carla; Jimmy Smits as Kevin Rosario; Corey Hawkins as Benny; Dascha Polanco as Cuca; Melissa Barrera as Vanessa; and Lin-Manuel Miranda as Piragua Guy, among others. 

While speaking with Rosie O'Donnell last month, Miranda, who wrote, produced, and starred in the Broadway version of In the Heights, said: “We were literally recording the score when all of this started happening. There’s a lot that remains to be done on that movie. We were finishing the score and the mixing and just getting the music exactly right.”

By "all of this," Miranda is of course referring to the coronavirus outbreak. Over the past several weeks, Hollywood has seen its schedules overturned by an invisible enemy known as COVID-19. The disease that continues to run rampant throughout the world has caused production shutdowns across the board, effectively delaying the release of theatrical films for an undermined amount of time. In truth, even premieres that've been rescheduled are considered to be tentative at best. With any luck, a lot of hard work, and a collective effort unlike the world has ever seen, the novel coronavirus will be rendered obsolete in the months to come. Stay safe out there, folks. We'll get through this, one way or another.