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Dear Evan Hansen is heading to the big screen
All good things must come to an end ... or must they?
On Thursday, Universal Pictures announced that it has acquired the film rights to the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen. The director behind the film Wonder, Stephen Chbosky, is in early talks to direct, writes The Hollywood Reporter.
Dear Evan Hansen follows a high schooler who suffers from social anxiety as he accidentally gets caught up in the aftermath of his classmate's suicide. The musical received nine Tony nominations and took home five, including best musical, best actor (Ben Platt), best featured actress (Rachel Bay Jones), and best score.
Platt, who originated the role and is also known for playing Benji in Pitch Perfect, is reportedly in talks to recreate his award-winning performance for the film. The movie will see other familiar faces in playwright Steven Levenson, who is set to pen the script, along with lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul who wrote the music for the show and will act as executive producers on the film, reports The Chicago Tribune.
The musical first opened in 2016, raking in $159.5 million to date, and is currently on a national tour.