Tony Award-Winning Musical Dear Evan Hansen Will Be Universal Pictures, Marc Platt Film; Wonders Stephen Chbosky May Direct
Matthew Murphy
EXCLUSIVE: Last years multiple Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen which won not only Best Musical but Best Actor and Best Actress in a Musical for Ben Platt and Rachel Bay Jones, respectively, is on its way to becoming a film. Stephen Chbosky, who directed last years sleeper worldwide box office hit Wonder, has been in conversations to direct, and negotiations have just begun. There is no start date as yet.
The story that explores the themes of teen suicide and mental illness, is about a high schooler plagued with social anxiety who concocts a story to become closer to the family of one of his classmates who committed suicide. Its still uncertain whether Ben Platt will reprise his role.
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul — the talented team who not only won that Tony for music and lyrics for Dear Evan Hansen, but also wrote the music for The Greatest Showman — sold the rights to the studio.
Marc Platt and Adam Siegel are producing through Marc Platt Productions while Pasek, Paul, and Steven Levenson (original author of Dear Evan Hansen who won the Tony for Best Book of a Musical for his work) are expected to be executive producers and Levenson will write.
Pasek and Paul won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “City of Stars” from La La Land, which was also produced by Platt. They were also nominated for Best Original Song for “This Is Me” from The Greatest Showman.
Wonder has made $305.9M worldwide after it bowed last November. The director previously directed the indie breakout The Perks of Being a Wallfllower.
Levenson (Fosse mini-series for FX) and Chbosky is repped by WME and lawyers Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush & Kaller. Pasek and Paul are repped by CAA, Kraft-Engel Management and Schreck Rose Dapello Adams Berlin & Dunham.
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