Long before he ever donned the guise of founding father Alexander Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda was already walking the boards on Broadway in an earlier Tony Award winning play titled In The Heights. Fast-forward to 2017, and the production is currently in the midst of being translated into a feature film directed by John M. Chu. What’s more, according to Weinstein Company founder Harvey Weinstein, none other than Hov himself, Jay Z, has signed on to the project as one of the film’s producers.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Weinstein made the announcement from the stage at his annual pre-Oscars party. The stunning news apparently even took those already involved in the film by surprise. “Did he just say Jay Z was co-producing?” one of the producers Scott Sanders was overheard saying after Weinstein’s declaration. “I didn’t know that,” he added, before apparently describing the development as being “great.”
As it stands, In The Heights is set to begin production sometime in the Spring of this year. As the title would suggest, it’s set in New York City’s Washington Heights and much like Hamilton, showcases a wide selection of differing genres and styles, hip-hop chief among them. According to Variety, Miranda will not reprise the role of the narrator and central character Usnavi, but the filmmakers are hopeful of finding another part for him.
