It'll Be 15 Years Before The Merrily We Roll Along Movie Is Finished, And I Have Concerns

Richard Linklater’s adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Merrily We Roll Along is not the first time the director has taken on a monumental task of producing a movie over a long period of years. His first effort in this style, Boyhood, was filmed over 12 years. For this latest production, he’s going even longer, as filming is planned to take 20 years, with 15 more years or so to go after production officially began in 2019. Boyhood was a monumental achievement, but I have to wonder if trying it again will work again. There has already been a major issue, which I’ll address.

Two Decades Is A Long Time

I completely appreciate that Linklater pulled this trick off with Boyhood, but there are some differences here. Notably, it’s almost twice as long a shooting schedule. A lot can happen over two decades. Like Boyhood, Merrily We Roll Along has a small cast that includes Paul Mescal, Beanie Feldstein, Ben Platt, Mallory Bechtel, Hannah Cruz and Lin-Manuel Miranda. This works in favor of the director, as there are fewer chances for something to happen to one of the cast members.

However, that very thing has already happened. When filming began in 2019, Blake Jenner, who previously worked with Linklater in Everybody Wants Some!!, was cast to play the lead, Franklin Shepard. After wrapping the initial production, Jenner was accused of domestic abuse by his ex-wife (and Glee co-star) Melissa Benoist. In the fallout from that, Paul Mescal replaced Jenner in the cast, forcing reshoots to happen in 2021. Not to make light of the situation by any means, but it’s a stark example of something happening that is out of Linklater's control.

I don’t expect anything like that to happen again, but that doesn’t mean that something won’t happen to a cast member. People get into disagreements, people’s priorities change, God forbid someone gets sick… There are just so many variables. Think about where you were in 2006 and where you are today. It’s been a long time. This time, it meant reshoots early in the process, so what if something happens at the end of the full production?

If Linklater And Company Pull It Off, It Could Be Epic

If you don’t know the story of Merrily We Roll Along, it’s perfect for this kind of ambitious project. It takes place over 20 years and is presented in reverse chronological order, so presumably, the first part of the production in 2019 and 2021 was covering the end of the movie, when the cast is at their youngest. Shooting it in “real time” is very cool, and it means there won’t be a need for heavy makeup or weird CGI de-aging.

It’s also a well-known property, but it wasn’t an immediate hit. In fact, the original Broadway production, which opened in 1981, flopped almost immediately. It was panned by critics and audiences alike, and though its reputation has been re-examined over the years, it’s still a divisive entry in Sondheim’s canon. The movie, and the production style, could solve the biggest complaint critics have had over the years, that the story is a bit confusing and hard to follow because of the reverse chronology. Having family actors playing the roles across the entire two decades would make it much easier to follow.

I have no idea if Linklater and the cast will pulls this off, but if they do, they will deserve a huge amount of praise for the ambition alone.