Remember Boyhood? That movie Linklater shot over 12 years so we could watch a kid grow up in real time? Cute. Amateur hour. His Merrily We Roll Along adaptation—filmed across two decades—makes Boyhood look like a weekend project. And now, because the universe enjoys chaos, Lin-Manuel Miranda has joined the cast.
Of course he has.
Linklater’s been quietly chipping away at this thing since 2019, letting his actors age naturally alongside their characters. It’s a gimmick, sure, but the kind only he could pull off without getting laughed out of the room. The man filmed Before Sunset in real-time increments, so at this point, we just nod and say, “Yeah, that tracks.”
Miranda’s involvement, though? That’s the curveball. He played Charley in a 2012 concert version of Merrily, but here? No clue who he’s playing. Maybe the ghost of Sondheim’s unfinished lyrics. Maybe a bartender who serves regret in a highball glass. The man’s a wildcard, and the internet’s already spinning fan theories between tweets about his next Disney project.
The rest of the cast—Paul Mescal, Ben Platt, Beanie Feldstein—are locked in for the long haul. By 2040, when this thing finally drops, they’ll have spent half their careers on it. Imagine explaining that to your grandkids: “Yeah, I was in a movie. We shot it when TikTok was still a thing.”
Linklater claims they’re “a third of the way through,” which means we’ve got roughly 14 more years of sporadic filming, cryptic set photos, and interviews where actors vaguely mutter, “It’s… evolving.” The plot, meanwhile, unfolds backward—starting with a washed-up composer (Mescal?) and rewinding to his idealistic youth. It’s The Social Network in reverse, with more jazz hands.
Will it work? Maybe. Will anyone care by 2040? Harder question. But Linklater’s betting his legacy on it, and Miranda’s apparently game, so buckle up. Or don’t. You’ve got time.
