Lights up on Washington Heights: Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights movie reveals first trailer

Lights are up on the first In the Heights trailer!

After teasing a few seconds of footage on Wednesday, Warner Bros. has unveiled the full-length first look at its big-screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s first Broadway musical, In The Heights. Directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) and starring Anthony Ramos (Broadway’s Hamilton, A Star Is Born) in the lead role of Usnavi, the explosive and vibrant trailer showcases the magic that’s to come in June 2020.

The clip kicks off with Ramos’ Usnavi explaining the meaning of a “sueñito” — a “little dream” — to some kids. He then goes on to tell the tale of The Heights: “It’s the story of a block that was disappearing; un barrio called Washington Heights, where the streets are made of music,” he says — and he’s not lying. The trailer is jam-packed with street dancing, synchronized-swimming dancing, nail-tapping-at-the-salon dancing, and much more dancing as the lives of the barrio’s inhabitants are brought to life on screen, all the while the lyric “In The Heights” replays over and over, building fervent anticipation.

“You’re going to hear the word magic a lot today,” said Chu during an event debuting the trailer Wednesday night in New York. “There’s no other word to express what we felt shooting this movie every day. It starts with Lin and Quiara [Alegría Hudes, screenplay writer]; they planted this magical seed that they planted into all of us. We had the best summer of our lives.”

Set in Upper Manhattan’s Washington Heights neighborhood, Miranda’s vibrant musical follows the lives of the people — many of them immigrants or children of immigrants — who live and work there, including Usnavi (played by Miranda himself on stage in the original Broadway cast) who owns the local bodega and dreams of winning big in the lottery and making it out of the barrio he grew up in. His plans are put somewhat put on hold, however, when it seems his long-time crush and beauty salon worker, Vanessa (Melissa Barrera), might reciprocate his feelings. All the while, the heat rises and rises in the neighborhood, bringing everyone’s tensions and truths bubbling to the surface. (Gotta love a New York summer.)

The film adaptation of the Tony-winning musical also stars Straight Outta Compton‘s Corey Hawkins as Benny, Leslie Grace as Nina, Gregory Diaz as Sonny de la Vega, and Marc Anthony as Sonny’s father, while Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz plays salon worker Carla and Rent‘s original Mimi Marquez, Daphne Rubin-Vega, will play salon owner (and neighborhood gossip) Daniela. Orange Is the New Black‘s Dascha Polanco also stars as Cuca and Jimmy Smits plays Kevin Rosario. Miranda also has a small but memorable role as Piragüero — the owner of a small piragua stand that tries to compete with Mister Softee.

“This is the dream team,” said Miranda during Wednesday night’s event in regards to the cast. “This is the dream, dream, dream team and some of us have been with this thing for a while…everyone here is a superstar.”

With a book by Hudes and music and lyrics by Miranda, the stage show won four Tony Awards and a Grammy. The film incarnation will hit theaters on June 26, 2020.

Check out the trailer above, and the film’s poster below.

Related content:

• Melissa Barerra and Leslie Grace join Anthony Ramos, Corey Hawkins in film adaptation of In The Heights
• In the Heights movie sets 2020 release date
• Jimmy Smits cast in film adaptation of In the Heights