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Legally Blonde 3 & In the Heights Get 2020 Release Dates
Two highly anticipated movies will see release in 2020: Reese Witherspoon's long-awaited Legally Blonde 3 and Lin-Manuel Miranda's film adaptation of the Tony-winning musical In the Heights. Both properties have individually celebrated massive success on Broadway.
Though there is currently nothing in the way of plot for the upcoming Legally Blonde sequel, Witherspoon recently confirmed that she will, in fact, be donning her character's pink wardrobe and Harvard Law degree in winter 2020. In fact, she confirmed the upcoming sequel in a very Elle Woods sort of way, posting a video on her official Twitter of her lounging on a float in her pool in a pink bikini, with the caption: "It's true... #LegallyBlonde3." The movie will follow 2003's Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, & Blonde. And as for the movie adaptation of In the Heights, the slice-of-life musical about residents in a Latino neighborhood in New York City from Hamilton's Lin Manuel Miranda will be released in summer 2020.
According to Deadline, MGM will release the upcoming Legally Blonde 3 on February 14, 2020. The screenwriters from the first movie, Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Karen McCullah, are in talks to pen the upcoming sequel. The first movie's original producer Mark Platt will also return, as well as Platt Productions president Adam Siegel. Witherspoon will also tackle producing duties through her company Hello Sunshine. The In the Heights movie will released by Warner Bros. on June 26, 2020, according to The Wrap. The process of adapting In the Heights has been a bumpy one over the past few years, with the musical's rights shifting from Universal (who wasn't confident in releasing the movie on the originally planned $37 million budget) and the Weinstein Company (until TWC went bankrupt following Harvey Weinstein's personal legal issues) before finally landing at Warner Bros., who will produce the movie on a $50 million budget.
One major takeaway from the In the Heights movie is that Miranda is unlikely to reprise the lead role in the adaptation, even though no casting announcements have been revealed. That said, Witherspoon will still headline the Legally Blonde sequel.
Despite the hurdles both movies have had to cross (with In the Heights' rights issues and the fact that Legally Blonde 2 opened to a poor critical response), they are being met with strong support. Between the outpour of support on social media for Legally Blonde 3 and Miranda's meteoric rise in popularity following Hamilton and Moana, both properties have a strong shot at reaching wide audiences come 2020.
