‘Hamilton’ is coming to Disney+ 17 months ahead of schedule

Disney had great news in February — a filmed version of Broadway’s “Hamilton,” featuring the original cast, would be coming to theaters, and eventually screened on Disney+. This week, they’ve had even better news. The show will be available on Disney+ a whopping 17 months ahead of schedule.

“Hamilton” was initially scheduled for release on Oct. 15, 2021. But given the current circumstances, with the world still fighting against COVID-19 and many people still spending most of their time in their homes, it has been fast-tracked. Disney+ subscribers will now be able to watch “Hamilton” from the comfort of their sofas on July 3, 2020.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the creator of “Hamilton” who also starred in the original show, announced the news on Twitter:

His wife, Vanessa Nadal, later shared what she described on Twitter as a “sneaky photo of @Lin_Manuel excitedly/nervously waiting to drop this news.” She added that “he woke up like a jolt of energy (more than usual) and could not keep still!”

It’s amazing news for “Hamilton” fans and even better news for those who haven’t been lucky enough to see it on stage — or those who had a ticket to see it but couldn’t go due to the new coronavirus, which has resulted in all Broadway productions being temporarily closed.

Within a year of opening on Broadway in August 2015, “Hamilton” received a record-breaking 16 Tony Award nominations and won 11 of them, including best musical. In 2018, the show scooped up seven awards at the U.K.’s Laurence Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London, including best new musical, outstanding achievement in music, best actor in a musical and best actor in a supporting role in a musical. In December 2019, “Hamilton” became the only Broadway show to bring in $4 million from eight shows in recorded Broadway history – even beating its own gross of $3.85 million during the same seven-day period in 2018.

According to iHeartRadio Broadway, the average ticket price to see Hamilton is valued at $375. By comparison, a Disney+ subscription is $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year.

If you’re not ready to commit just yet, you can test it out for seven days of the streaming service for free. The first week of July might be the perfect time to do just that!