Here’s something slightly unexpected: Universal plans to open their Dear Evan Hansen movie in theaters this year. The movie adapted from the hit Broadway musical started shooting last September and supposedly wrapped in December. That itself isn’t news, per se, but movie release dates are in a weird place right now as everyone waits to see what’s going to happen with the COVID-19 situation. Up until now, Dear Evan Hansen had no release date in place, but today, Universal revealed they’re moving forward with plans to open the movie in theaters this September.

Various outlets are reporting the news that Universal has set the Dear Evan Hansen movie release date for September 24, 2021. In normal times, a studio announcing a release date wouldn’t be the biggest deal, but we’re not in normal times – we’re still in the midst of a pandemic that has Hollywood scrambling. Several titles from 2020 got pushed to 2021, and now those titles are still being pushed, with much of the summer 2021 slate in doubt. But Universal is crossing their fingers and hoping for the best here, and assuming that movie theaters will be back in full swing come September.

In Dear Evan Hansen, “Evan Hansen, a high school student with social anxiety disorder, takes advantage of the suicide of a classmate for his own emotional gains, after accidentally letting a letter he wrote to himself be taken by the classmate, whose family mistakes it for being written by their son to Evan.” Stephen Chbosky is directing the film, which stars Ben Platt, who reprises the role he originated on stage. The cast also features Kaitlyn Dever, Amandla Stenberg, Colton Ryan, Nik Dodani, Danny Pino, Amy Adams, and Julianne Moore.

Featuring music by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (The Greatest Showman), and a book by Steven Levenson (who also wrote the movie’s screenplay), Dear Evan Hansen had its world premiere in 2015 on the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., before an off-Broadway production at Second Stage Theatre that ran from March to May 2016. In December 2016 it made its Broadway debut at the Music Box Theatre and became a hit. At the 71st Tony Awards, it was nominated for nine awards and won six, including Best Actor in a Musical, Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Best Musical, and Best Score.

Dear Evan Hansen now joins a growing line-up of musicals due out in 2021. The others include In the Heights, which is set to open in theaters and on HBO Max on June 18, 2021, Tick, Tick… Boom!, which is scheduled to arrive on Netflix sometime this year, and Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, which is currently due out on December 10, 2021.

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