This is so exciting!
Filmmaker Richard Linklater will direct a multi-year film adaptation of Merrily We Roll Along starring Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein, according to Collider. The film is based off of Stephen Sondheim‘s acclaimed musical Merrily We Roll Along, which was originally adapted from the 1934 play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.
Merrily We Roll Along follows Franklin Shepard, a talented Broadway composer who abandons his theater career in New York and all his friends in order to produce movies in Los Angeles. Like the play, the musical begins at the height of his Hollywood fame and moves backwards in time, showing snapshots of the most important moments in Frank’s life that shaped the man he is today. Platt will play the lead, while Feldstein will play his best friend, theater critic Mary Flynn.
According to Collider, the play takes place over the course of 20 years, and Linklater will stay true to that timeline. The film will shot in reverse chronological order, as the play and musical end when the characters are in their mid-20s and just embarking on their entertainment careers.
More details about a production schedule and casting will be announced at a later date.
Photo: Getty