Lin-Manuel Miranda's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical about Alexander Hamilton might soon get the silver screen treatment — just not in a way you'd expect.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the rights to a recording of Hamilton on Broadway, starring the original cast with Miranda as Hamilton, are currently up for sale. These rights, however, aren't for a Hamilton adaptation but for distributing a pre-recorded performance of the show made in 2016.
Hamilton Movie Screening
Studios that have expressed interest in screening the performance in movie theaters — or at least putting it on streaming platforms — include Netflix, Twentieth Century Fox, and Warner Bros. Whichever company wins the bidding war will have exclusive rights to the recording for a while before sharing it with the public. The sellers are reportedly asking for the recording to be held until 2020 or 2021, "giving the show at least two more years during which it can only be seen on stage."
The creators of Hamilton are going to have a big payday whatever happens. As per The Wall Street Journal, the rights could sell for over $50 million.
It's not clear if a true screen adaptation of the Broadway musical is in the works, but in February 2017, Miranda confirmed during a podcast that a film adaptation will indeed happen. He also hinted about reprising his role in the silver screen. Creed and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler has expressed a desire to helm the adaptation himself, though there's no guarantee whether he'll actually do it.
Hamilton The Musical
Hamilton, for the uninitiated, is a rap musical about the life of Hamilton, one of the founding fathers of America. Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics, won a Pulitzer for it in 2016. It's been noted for incorporating a blend of different genres not usually heard in Broadway, including rap, hip hop, R&B, and soul. It's also been heralded by critics for casting non-white actors as the Founding Fathers and other historical figures.
The original cast includes Miranda as Hamilton, Jonathan Groff as King George III, Leslie Odom Jr. as Aaron Burr, Christopher Jackson as George Washington, Phillipa Soo as Eliza Hamilton, Daveed Diggs as Marquis de Lafayette/Thomas Jefferson, and Reneé Elise Goldsberry as Angelica Schuyler.
The show won 11 Tony Awards in 2016, including Best Musical.
Miranda had revealed in 2016 that a recording was made. In the post-show conference, the actor confirmed that the final two performances would be taped. Later, he tweeted that he didn't know when the footage would be released.
