Paul Mescal will replace Blake Jenner in Richard Linklater’s musical adaptation Merrily We Roll Along… which will span 20 YEARS of filming
Director Richard Linklater’s ambitious musical adaptation Merrily We Roll Along has found a new star in Paul Mescal.
The Aftersun star, 26, will replace Blake Jenner, who retired from the film in 2019 after allegations of domestic violence surfaced from his ex-wife Melissa Benoist via Above the Line.
The project was first announced in August 2019, with the filmmaker filming the project over a whopping 20-year span, similar to his film Boyhood, which was filmed over a 12-year span.
New star: Director Richard Linklater’s ambitious musical adaptation Merrily We Roll Along has found a new star in Paul Mescal
Replaces Blake: The Aftersun star, 26, will replace Blake Jenner, who retired from the film in 2019 after allegations of domestic violence surfaced from his ex-wife Melissa Benoist via Above the Line
The project is an adaptation of the 1981 stage musical of the same name by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth.
The story follows Franklin Shepard (Mescal), a successful Broadway composer who leaves his career and friends behind to become a Hollywood film producer.
The story is told in reverse chronological order, beginning with his longtime friend and theater critic Mary (Beanie Feldstein) berating him as a sellout and ending 20 years earlier with Franklin, Mary and Franklin’s lyricist Charley (Ben Platt) calling him “fresh”. -confronted hopefuls.’
Character: The story follows Franklin Shepard (Mescal), a successful Broadway composer who leaves his career and friends behind to become a Hollywood film producer
Mescal has already filmed part of the sprawling project, which Linklater will film parts of every year for the next two decades, as he did with Boyhood.
“I first saw and fell in love with Merrily in the ’80s, and I can’t think of a better place to spend the next 20 years than in the world of a Sondheim musical,” Linklater said of the project was announced in 2019.
“I’m not going into this multi-year experience lightly, but it seems like the best, maybe only, way to do justice to that story on film,” he added.
Director: “I first saw ‘Merrily’ in the ’80s and fell in love with ‘Merrily’ and I can’t think of a better place to spend the next 20 years than in the world of a Sondheim musical” , Linklater said of the project being announced in 2019
Linklater filmed Boyhood over a 12-year period, following star Ellar Coltrane from ages 6 to 18, filming segments each year with him and Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawken, who played the boy’s parents.
Platt announced in April that they’ve already filmed the first sequence and will be reuniting to film next in Holidays 2023.
It’s unclear if Linklater started from scratch and abandoned the footage he shot with Jenner in 2019, or if he somehow implemented Mescal’s scenes into the previous footage.
Filmed: Linklater filmed Boyhood over a 12-year period and followed the star Ellar Coltrane from age 6 to 18, filming segments each year with him and Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawken, who played the boy’s parents
Mescal made his first appearance alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones in the 2020 series Normal People.
He starred in The Lost Daughter, God’s Creatures and Aftersun, for which he received rave reviews.
The actor last made headlines when he signed on to star in the long-awaited sequel to Best Picture winner Gladiator.
Roles: Mescal made her first appearance alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones in the 2020 series Normal People
Headlines: The actor recently made headlines when he signed on to star in the long-awaited sequel to Best Picture-winning Gladiator