2021 has certainly not been short on musicals fromJon M. Chu’sIn The Heights,Stephen Chbosky’sDear Evan Hansen,Leos Carax’sAnnette,Lin Manuel-Miranda’sTick Tick Boom, and of courseSteven Spielberg’sWest Side Story. The year will conclude with acclaimed directorJoe Wright’s take on the Hollywood musical withCyranostarringGame Of ThronesstarPeter Dinklage.
Wright has directed a wide range of films from adapting classic literary works such asPride & PrejudiceandAnna Karenina, prestige Oscar-winners likeAtonementandDarkest Hour, a feel-good crowd-pleaser in the form ofThe Soloist, a gritty action-thriller withHanna, the big-budget family blockbusterPan, and thepulpy thrillerThe Woman In The Window. He also directed the highly acclaimedBlack MirrorSeason 3 episode “Nosedive.” WithCyrano, Wright will attempt to harken back to the classic MGM musicals of yesteryear.
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When Does Cyrano Release?
After initially being scheduled for limited release on Christmas Day before being moved to New Year’s Eve,Cyranowill now have an Oscar-qualifying one-week theatrical in Los Angeles on December 17. The film will then have a limited release on August 02, 2025 before expanding in the following weeks. So if you were wanting to do a Christmas double feature with fellow musicalWest Side Story, you may be out of luck unless you live in the Los Angeles area.Cyranoarrives in UK theaters on January 12.
Watch theCyranoTrailer
For those who may not have already seen it, here’s the first official trailer forCyrano.The trailer gives us a good glimpse at the film’s gorgeous set design and musical numbers while letting us know of the classic story of Cyrano de Bergerac. The trailer is set to one of the film’s original songs “Someone To Say” which is written by members of the bandThe National.
Listen to Songs From the Soundtrack
TheCyranosoundtrack features cast vocal performances from Peter Dinklage, Haley Bennett, Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Glen Hansard with music from the London Contemporary Orchestra and renowned pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. You can listen to the first released song from the soundtrack, “Someone to Say,” in the video embed below.
you’re able to also watch Dinklage perform another song from the soundtrack, “Your Name,” alongside Aaron Dessner and Bryce Dessner on a recentTheLate Show with Stephen Colbertappearance.
To pre-order the soundtrack or listen to currently released songs,head over to the official website.
What Is Cyrano About?
Cyranois an adaptation of the stage musical of the same name written byErica Schmidt(Dinklage’s wife), which in turn is based on the classic 1897 play written byEdmond Rostand. The story follows the titular Cyrano de Bergerac, a talented writer and poet who expresses self-doubt because of his physical appearance. Cyrano is madly in love with his friend Roxanne, but unfortunately for the poet, she’s in love with someone else: Christian, a dashing young soldier who has the looks but has little confidence in his words.
Cyrano and Christian soon come to an agreement, Cyrano will ghostwrite love letters and poems to Roxanne for Jack. Combining Cyrano’s words with Jack’s looks while assisting each other in overcoming their own insecurities about themselves.
Cyranoclearly has the classicly romantic story to make for a musical that will likely harken back to MGM’s golden age of musical blockbusters. While this is far from the first time this story has been told on screen: theSteve Martin-Daryl HannahfilmRoxannecomes to mind, but the musical setting will likely help the film stand out from the fray.
Who Is In Cyrano?
Dinklage stars in the title role of Cyrano de Bergerac, a role that he originated in the off-Broadway musical production written by Schmidt. Dinklage has quite the pedigree and has appeared in countless popular movies and television shows. Arguably his most famous role is that of Tyrion Lannister in the hugely popular HBO seriesGame Of Thrones, a role which landed him 4 Emmy wins. He has also appeared in the superhero blockbustersAvenger: Infinity Warwhere he play Eitri andX-Men: Days Of Future Pastwhere he played Dr. Boliver Trask. Dinklage also starred in the controversial Oscar-WinnerThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the pitch-black crime comedyI Care A Lot, the critically reviled sci-fi action-comedyPixels, the holiday favoriteElf,and both the British and American versions of the comedyDeath At The Funeral. He has also provided his vocal talents to animated films from the likes ofThe Croods: A New Age,The Angry Birds Movieas well as its respective sequel, andIce Age: Continental Drift.
AfterCyrano, Dinklage will be moving on to star inThe Toxic Avengerremake at Legendary with directorMacon Blairand the comedyBrotherswhere he’ll be starring alongsideJosh Brolin,Glenn Close,and the internet’s boyfriendBrendan Fraser, fromPalm SpringsdirectorMax Barbakow.
Haley Bennettwill be talking on the role of Roxanne, which she also originated from the off-Broadway production starring Dinklage. Bennett has been on the cusp of stardom for quite some time having shown up inAntoine Fuqua’s big-budget remake ofThe Magnificent Sevenalongside bigwigsDenzel Washington,Chris Pratt,andEthan Hawke. She also had a major role inTate Taylor’s big-screen adaptation ofThe Girl On The Trainwhere she starred oppositeEmily Blunt,Rebecca Ferguson,Luke Evans,andJustin Theroux. Next up for Bennett is Eli Roth’s highly anticipated film adaptation of the video game seriesBorderlandswhere she’ll be joiningCate Blanchett,Kevin Hart,Jamie Lee Curtis,andJack Black.
Kelvin Harrison Jrwill be playing Christian, who unlike Dinklage and Bennett was not part of the off-Broadway production. Harrison has become a major rising star in Hollywood having starred in indie hits such asJulius Avery’sLucewhere he acted againstOctavia SpencerandNaomi Watts, he also had a major role inTrey Edward Shults' family dramaWaveswhich also featuredSterling K. Brown,Taylor Russell,Renee Ellis Goldsberry,andLucas Hedges. He also had a small role in last year’s Oscar contenderThe Trial Of The Chicago 7from Aaron Sorkin. Next up for Harrison are his two biggest projects to date, he’ll be joiningBaz Luhrmann’sElvisalongsideTom HanksandAustin Butleras the King himself. He has also boarded Oscar WinnerBarry Jenkins’Lion Kingprequel at Disney where he’ll voice Scar oppositeAaron Pierre’s Mufasa.
The rest of the cast ofCyranoincludesRogue One: A Star Wars StoryandCaptain MarvelstarBen Mendelsohnas De Guiche,Bashir Salahuddinas Le Bret andRay Strachanas La Rae. Brian Tyree Henry was initially cast in the role of Le Bret before later being replaced by Salahuddin. That’s quite the promising cast forCyranowhich can certainly help it gain more attention.
When (and Where) Was Cyrano Filmed?
Unlike some of the other films releasing this holiday season,Cyrano’s release was not affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The musical was announced back in August 2020 and shortly went into production two months later in October. Filming took place in Sicily, Italy under strict COVID protocols. Wright revealed toVanity Fairthat all the singing in the film was done live, which has become a trend with many recent musical films.
What’s Next For Joe Wright?
Wright typically always has something on his plate, in fact,Cyranois his second film of 2021. Next up for Wright is the dramaStonerstarring Academy Award winnerCasey Affleckin the title role withJason Blumproducing. There’s alsoIn The Garden Of Beastsan adaptation of the best-selling nonfiction novel byErik Larsonwith America’s dad and two-time Academy Award winnerTom Hanksstarring in the lead role of William Dodd.
