A book that became a cult classic film may soon become Broadway’s next big hit. Lin-Manuel Miranda is adapting The Warriors into a stage musical. This report comes courtesy of The New York Post, stating that Miranda hasn’t given the world a stage musical since the enormously successful Hamilton. That’s not to suggest that Miranda hasn’t been keeping busy. He’s since directed his first feature film Tick, Tick… Boom!, and he’s starred in HBO’s His Dark Materials. Miranda has also written music and lyrics for Disney films such as Encanto and the recent remake of The Little Mermaid. Now, Lin-Manuel Miranda is returning to the stage with a musical adaptation of The Warriors.
Lin-Manuel Takes ‘The Warriors’ to the Stage as a Musical
Sol Yurick’s 1965 novel The Warriors told the story of a New York City street gang battling to reach their home turf after they are framed for the murder of a gang leader. The 1979 adaptation faced controversy upon its release due to reports of vandalism and violence at screenings. Three moviegoers were killed on their way to or from screenings. This led to significant setbacks with the advertising campaign, and Paramount released theaters from obligations to screen the film. The movie also received many negative reviews from critics.
However, The Warriors is now considered a cult film, and many critics have reexamined it. While the famed film critic Roger Ebert gave it two stars out of four upon its release, he later admitted that he overlooked some of the film’s strengths. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who we’ll soon see as Hermes in Percy Jackson, has never been afraid to touch on heavy material, as we have seen with In the Heights and Hamilton. If anyone can take a controversial film with deep themes like The Warriors and make it into a stage musical, it’s Lin-Manuel Miranda.
