Paul Mescal Replaces Blake Jenner In MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG Film

Hey, old friend! Actor Paul Mescal has joined the upcoming film adaptation of the musical Merrily We Roll Along. Mescal steps into the role of Franklin Shephard, replacing originally announced lead Blake Jenner.

Directed by Richard Linklater, the Sondheim adaptation is set to be shot across the next twenty years and in reverse chronological order.

Star Ben Platt revealed last spring that production had completed the first sequence of the upcoming film. Filming is set to begin again in late 2023.

According to Variety, there is no word on whether production intends to start over or employ methods to preserve the original performances from the film's other two stars, Golden Globe-nominee Beanie Feldstein and Tony Award-winner Platt.

Merrily We Roll Along is the musical adaptation of George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's play of the same name. The show centers around a trio of friends: Franklin Shepard, Charley Kringas, and Mary Flynn. The show begins in 1976 with Frank, who, having once been a talented composer of Broadway musicals, has now abandoned his friends and his songwriting career to become a producer of Hollywood movies.

The show's narrative then shows the events of the trio's lives in reverse chronological order, ending in 1957. The musical has a score by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth, and the original production was directed by Harold Prince.

Photo Credit: Craig Sugden