Richard Linklater takes stock of his new film made over 20 years
The director of Boyhood has just given news of Merrily We Roll Along, the filming of which could take us until 2040.
Richard Linklater is not finished at all Merrily We Roll Along. And he would like us to stop talking to him about it…
Present at the Zurich Film Festival, the director gave news of his adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical, which is scheduled to be filmed over… 20 years! Even stronger than his masterpiece, Boyhoodfilmed intermittently over a period of 12 years.
“Except that when I was doing Boyhood, we worked in complete anonymity! Nobody knew the film. This film, because it’s a Stephen Sondheim musical, is much more exposed. Where are we? I’m going to have to answer this question for twenty years while we make it…“
Richard Linklater gives an update on the filming of “Merrily We Roll Along”:
“It’s nine sections in 20 years, and in a few months, we are filming a fourth. So see you in 2040… That’s the only way to tell this story, but people go: ‘What if someone dies?’ There’s always some… pic.twitter.com/K6Al6CX3El
— Variety (@Variety) September 29, 2026
Yes, exactly, where is it?
Linklater will soon put his camera back on and gives an update on the long-term progress of his business:
“My assessment is this: we have to film nine sections over twenty years, and in a few months, we will film the fourth section. So see you in 2040!“
The filmmaker obviously knows that he is playing with fire by launching such a long shoot:
“People say to me, ‘What if someone dies?’ There is always something extreme that could prevent the film from being completed. But usually, that doesn’t happen. We must collaborate with the future and simply integrate this data into the equation…“
To tell the story of Merrily We Roll Alonghe doesn’t really have a choice anyway. The musical tells the story of a friendship spanning decades, going back in time rather than following it.
In the cast, we find Paul Mescal, Beanie Feldstein and Ben Platt united in front of his camera to play the main characters.
Linklater therefore reiterates his experience Boyhood successful:
“I hope I get lucky again, but Merrily We Roll Alongit’s very different from Boyhood. I’ve always made films that are a bit musical in a sense, and it’s fun to do a real musical. And it’s a story of friendship, in the long term.”
We will therefore have to wait a little longer before discovering the result in theaters, in a decade or two.
