Richard Linklater sure likes taking his time. After the groundbreaking feat of filming Boyhood over the course of 12 years, the director is apparently trying to one-up himself with his next film.
According to Collider, Linklater is set to adapt Stephen Sondheim’s musical Merrily We Roll Along into a film starring Booksmart‘s Beanie Feldstein and Pitch Perfect‘s Ben Platt. He reportedly plans on filming over the course of the next 20 years. No other cast information has been announced yet.
Sondheim’s musical is based on a 1934 play of the same. The musical tells the story of Franklin Shapard, a Broadway composer who gives up his life in New York to go make films in Los Angeles. Sondheim begins the musical at the height of Shepard’s movie career, working backward to show the man’s life and the moments that defined him. Linklater plans on staying true to that narrative, filming as needed over the next 20 years to show a realistic passage of time in the film.
Feldstein recently starred in the SXSW darling Booksmart. Next, she’s set to portray Monica Lewinsky in FX’s upcoming season of American Crime Story. The newest season of the anthology series will explore the infamous sex-scandal of Bill Clinton’s presidency. Feldstein’s co-star Ben Platt is currently tearing up Broadway in Dear Evan Hansen. He also stars in Netflix’s upcoming Ryan Murphy series, The Politician.
Linklater’s Merrily We Roll Along obviously has no release date yet but be on the lookout around 2040.
