The Matrix Meets Record-Breaking Musical In Lin-Manuel Miranda’s New Star-Studded Movie

Published Jul 13, 2026, 5:05 PM EDT

Anthony Jadus (Tony) is a New York-based writer and actor with an MFA from Columbia University. Originally from just outside Scranton, PA, he's written for TheGamer and Young Hollywood, and he has been a Movie & TV News Reporter at ScreenRant since 2026.

He strives to continue being a "perpetual student."

Thus far, Lin-Manuel Miranda has had a wide-ranging career. He's acted on stage in iconic productions such as In the Heights and Hamilton, written hit songs for movies Moana ("How Far I'll Go") and Encanto ("We Don't Talk About Bruno") to name a few, and made his film directorial debut with Netflix's 2021 "Tick, Tick... Boom!" From directing Andrew Garfield's Oscar-nominated performance in Tick, Tick... Boom! to acting with and writing for stars like Meryl Streep, Dwayne Johnson, Javier Bardem, Anthony Ramos, and many others, Miranda has worked with some of today's most popular performers.

In his upcoming feature film, Octet, Miranda will be directing more stars, as he adapts a musical created by Dave Malloy which premiered on May 19, 2019, at the Signature Theatre in NYC. In an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Miranda described the original as, "this brilliant musical about a recovery group for internet addicts." He further described it, "as like Chorus Line meets The Matrix."

Octet is about eight strangers who meet in a church basement, where they lock their phones and, similar to other recovery groups, attempt to discuss their struggles to connect with one another in real time. With eight characters making up the "Friends of Saul" support group, they share their dependency stories ranging from gaming to social media to conspiracies and more.

Similar to A Chorus Line, Octet surrounds raw, individual vulnerability. Octet is a contained piece where characters open up to the group, so the plot revolves around a shared dynamic. Miranda including The Matrix comparison could be suggestive of how characters are fighting against technology and the internet. They are struggling to unplug from the digital world to the extent that is overtaking their real lives.

Image courtesy of Everett Collection

Following the original award-winning production, when the show became available for licensing, Miranda explained his enthusiasm for adapting it into a film. He said, "More people should know about this incredible score. It's only gotten more prescient with the advent of AI and the conversations we're having now around technology... [the show] was already talking about AI and all these things back in 2018 when Dave was writing it."

Miranda went on to discuss how excited he is to again be "working with actors in a space and [they're] figuring it out together." Describing the cast of Octet, Miranda referred to the eight actors as the "Avengers for theater kids," and his musical Avengers ensemble includes Amanda Seyfried (Jessica), Rachel Zegler (Velma), Sheryl Lee Ralph (Paula), Phillipa Soo (Karly), Jonathan Groff (Henry), Gaten Matarazzo (Toby), Tramell Tillman (Marvin), and Paul-Jordan Jansen (Ed).

This latest Lin-Manuel Miranda-directed movie, Octet, finished filming in Yonkers, New York in 22 days, wrapping on June 12, 2026. It currently has no confirmed release date or studio attached, as the film was independently financed. Given Miranda's comments and comparisons, fans can expect an adaptation with musical and vulnerable themes comparable to A Chorus Line, all the while dealing with the reality-bending side of The Matrix.

Birthdate January 16, 1980