Ever the shapeshifter, former Spider-Man and recent Drag Race UK guest judge Andrew Garfield has found his newest role courtesy of Lin-Manuel Miranda, who will be making his feature directorial debut with tick, tick... BOOM! for Netflix. The film will adapt Jonathan Larson's autobiographical Off-Broadway show – the playwright who notably went on to write Pulitzer winner and worldwide sensation Rent – with Garfield in the lead role.
As reported by Deadline, the film will see Garfield play a version of Larson onscreen, capturing the ambitious young playwright's rise to the stars. Miranda, the creator of Hamilton who recently starred in Mary Poppins Returns and the BBC's His Dark Materials, has long been attached to direct the film adaptation – and the casting news is an indication that things are ramping up. "tick, tick... BOOM! first entered my life in college when I was lucky enough to snag a seat at the Jane Street Theater in 2001," he said. "Jonathan Larson's captivating storytelling in 'Rent' first taught me that musicals could be contemporary, true to life, and depict your own experiences."
Garfield is no stranger to the stage, having most recently starred as Prior Walter in productions ofTony Kushner's_Angels in America_; at the National Theatre in London in 2017, reprising the role on Broadway in 2018, for which he won a Tony Award. He was Oscar-nominated for his role as Desmond T. Doss in Hacksaw Ridge – but could his turn in tick, tick... BOOM!, written by one creator of a stage musical who won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and directed by another one, be the role that finally sees him win big? We'll find out in a few years' time.