If you've already marked your calendars for the release of the In the Heights movie, you're not alone. The play-turned-film, slated to release June 18, 2021, has been a long time coming. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the show while studying at Wesleyan University before presenting it at the National Music Theatre Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. which launched its path to Broadway. 

In 2008, the show won four Tony Awards, including Best Musical, and launched the careers of several members of the creative team including Tommy Kail and Alex Lacamoire, who would later work on Hamilton. You won't see Lin-Manuel in the original role on-screen, but you will recognize Anthony Ramos, who portrayed John Lawrence and Philip Hamilton in Hamilton, as Usnavi.

Though the film was originally slated for June 24, 2021, director John Chu made the announcement via Twitter last April, stating, "After long conversations & sleepless nights of uncertainty, we have decided the best time to release #InTheHeightsMovie is next summer when people will feel the MOST comfortable celebrating in a movie theater TOGETHER. I know it's much later than we wanted but..."

He continued, "#InTheHeightsMovie didn't take 10 years to get made only to be left in half empty theaters w/out the crowd it deserves!! So thank you 4 ur patience & faith...and when we get through this time & the movie comes out we are throwing a HUGE EFFING PARTY LIKE YOU'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE."