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Lin-Manuel Miranda opened up about his upcoming musical movie Octet whereas chatting with PEOPLE at the Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York occasion on Aug. 25
Miranda is directing the movie, which stars Amanda Seyfried, Rachel Zegler, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jonathan Groff, Gaten Matarazzo and extra
He stated there may be an Octet group chat and described it as “lit”
Lin-Manuel Miranda says the stars of his upcoming Octet musical movie have had excellent concord from the begin.
Miranda, 46, lately caught up with PEOPLE whereas stepping out to the Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York occasion in New York City on Tuesday, Aug. 25. He shared that it was “such a dream” to listen to the movie’s stars singing collectively for the first time.
“It was the first day of rehearsal. And frankly, they formed such a special unit,” stated Miranda, who attended the occasion with his spouse, Vanessa Nadal. “I’m really just excited to finish the film to honor their collaboration. They had to become this insane eight-part harmony singing unit, and they did.”
He added, “The group chat is lit, and I can’t wait for you all to see [the movie].”
Written by Dave Malloy and directed by Miranda, the movie is an adaptation of the stage musical Octet. “Eight internet-obsessed people meet in a church basement and lock their phones in a box,” an official synopsis reads. “The musical follows the octet as they struggle with digital dependency, charting their compulsions using only the analog vibrancy of their own voices.”
Lin-Manuel Miranda and spouse Vanessa Nadal at the Roger Federer: An Icon Returns to New York occasion in New York City on Aug. 25, 2026
Credit: John Nacion/WireImage
The members of the octet might be performed by Amanda Seyfried, Rachel Zegler, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Phillipa Soo, Gaten Matarazzo, Jonathan Groff, Tramell Tillman and Paul-Jordan Jansen.
Miranda revealed the solid on April 14, sharing a photo on Instagram of a rehearsal sign-in sheet and writing, “Rehearsals have begun.”
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He first introduced on April 2 that he can be directing a movie adaptation of the musical, which made its world premiere as an Off-Broadway manufacturing in 2019.
“I haven’t stopped thinking about Octet since I saw Annie Tippe’s premiere production in November of 2019,” he stated at the time. “Dave Malloy’s score is versatile, brilliant and grows more relevant with each passing year. It won’t leave me alone, so here we are.”
Amanda Seyfried; Lin-Manuel Miranda
Credit: Gareth Cattermole/Getty; Eric McCandless/Disney through Getty
Weeks later, Seyfried, 40, informed PEOPLE that she stated “yes” instantly to starring in the movie, regardless of not figuring out what it was.
“I didn’t even know what it was exactly,” she defined whereas attending the 2026 Tiffany & Co. Blue Book Gala on April 16. “I just knew that Lin-Manuel Miranda was making a new project and he was directing a new movie, and it was a musical. … I did meet with him. I mean, I’d met him before, you know, around town, but I met with him specifically for this project. I was like, ‘I don’t care what it is. I’m in.’ And he said, ‘Let me just explain it to you.’ “
“But it’s a cappella, and I’m a born singer,” Seyfried continued. “It’s what I love to do. It’s what makes me happy, and to do it for work is absolutely better than I could have ever hoped, so I’m in it right now. We’re in it right now, and some of the best moments of my life have just happened this week.”
Ralph, in the meantime, informed PEOPLE that she felt “frightened” about taking up a job in Octet.
“I’d have to honestly say, working with Lin-Manuel Miranda and that cast of eight was one of the most challenging things I have ever done in a very long time. It frightened me to my core,” she stated on the purple carpet forward of the eighth Annual African American Film Critics Association TV Honors on Aug. 8.
“But having come through it, I’m like, ‘Oh my God. I’m all the better for having taken that difficult journey,’ ” Ralph, 69, added.
Octet doesn’t but have a launch date.
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