Lin-Manuel Miranda drops 1st trailer for 'In The Heights' movie
Lights up on Washington Heights!
The first trailer for the highly anticipated "In The Heights" film has officially dropped and features a slew of Broadway favorites and rising stars on the silver screen.
The movie is 12 years in the making, but creator Lin-Manuel Miranda says it couldn't have come at a better time.
"I started writing this show when I was 19 years old, six blocks away from where we are now, at my parents house," Miranda, best known for the smash hit, "Hamilton," told the audience at an event for the trailer in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City.
The movie focuses on the largely Hispanic neighborhood in Manhattan and the characters who live there as they chase the modern-day American dream.
Miranda originally starred in "In the Heights" when the show debuted on Broadway in 2008 and it took home four Tony Awards including Best Musical. For the movie adaption, Miranda hands off the lead role of Usnavi to his former "Hamilton" co-star Anthony Ramos.
It was the first time I saw a show and wasn't like, 'I relate to these characters,' but 'I know them.'
"The fact that Lin [Manuel Miranda] trusted me with this role means more than you will ever imagine," Ramos said.
Miranda is responsible for all the music and lyrics of the movie -- and he even makes a cameo as the Piragua Guy!
Ramos, who grew up in New York, said seeing the musical in college inspired him not to quit acting.
"It was the first time I saw a show and wasn't like, 'I relate to these characters,' but 'I know them,'" he said.
To stay honest to the core of the story, the film was shot on location in Washington Heights.
Choreography sizzles on screen and sweeping motions bring the streets of the neighborhood to life, thanks to "Crazy Rich Asians" director Jon Chu.
Chu said he loved filming the movie so much, he even named his newborn son "Heights."
Fans of the original "In the Heights" music will appreciate Olga Merediz reprising her Tony-nominated role as Abuela Claudia in the film version.
The movie also stars Dascha Polanco from "Orange is the New Black", Stephanie Beatriz from "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" and Broadway legend Daphne Rubin-Vega.
The film is slated to hit theaters in June 2020.
