Jimmy Smits in Talks to Join Cast of IN THE HEIGHTS Film

Emmy and Golden Globe winner Jimmy Smits is in talks to join the film adaptation of In the Heights, according to Collider.

Smits would play Kevin, a proud, hardworking businessman and Nina's father. Sources say Bronx music sensation Leslie Grace is the choice to play Nina, but no further confirmation on her involvement has been announced.

"In the Heights" is set in WASHINGTON HEIGHTS in New York City and focuses on a bodega owner who is closing his store and retiring to the Dominican Republic after inheriting his grandmother's fortune. It was previously announced that Anthony Ramos will star in the film as Usnavi, the character Miranda played during the Broadway run.

"In the Heights" will hit theaters on June 26, 2020, released by Warner Bros., who picked up the movie last month after a heated bidding war following the rights' release from The Weinstein Co. The film's script will be written by Quiara Alegría Hudes. Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) will direct the movie-musical. Anthony Bregman, Mara Jacobs and Scott Sanders are set to produce.

The Tony Award-winning musical IN THE HEIGHTS features music & lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The show opened on Broadway production in March 2008 and was nominated for 13 Tony Awards, winning four: Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Choreography and Best Orchestrations. It won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album and was also nominated for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Smits is a 12-time Emmy nominee and is best known for starring in shows like L.A. Law ,NYPD Blue, and The West Wing. He recently starred on How to Get Away With Murder and played Bail Organa in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. On Broadway, Smits starred in the 2009 production of God of Carnage and the 2003 production of Anna in the Tropics.

Read the original article on Collider