Universal released the first trailer for the Dear Evan Hansen movie, premiering in theaters on September 24. Ben Platt reprises his titular role in the big-screen adaptation of the Broadway musical hit created by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Dear Evan Hansen follows Evan Hansen, an anxious and isolated high school student who writes letters to himself. Evan’s classmate Connor Murphy gets hold of one of his letters and dies by suicide with the note in his pocket, leading Connor’s parents to believe it was a suicide note addressed to Evan. Soon, Evan gets caught in a complicated lie, pretending to have been Connor’s friend and forming a fabricated relationship with the Murphy family. Stephen Chbosky directed the film from a script by Steven Levenson, who wrote the book that inspired the stage musical. Dear Evan Hansen opened on Broadway in December 2016 and quickly became a fan favorite. The musical also dominated the awards circuit, taking home six Tony Awards, including best musical and best actor in a musical for Platt. The original Broadway cast album is also Grammy-award winning.
ben platt in the dear evan hansen trailer pic.twitter.com/IkrwoEk67x
— screaming into the void (@fruitskywalker) May 18, 2021
Although the musical reigns popular among the theatre world, many viewers felt that Platt returning to play Hanse, a high school student, felt slightly off-track. It isn’t uncommon to see 27-year-olds in high school roles; if anything Hollywood has become notorious for it. But fans still feel as though this Broadway to big-screen transfer could have been the breakout role for a young emerging actor. Chbosky, on the other hand, feels as though Platt is the best man for the job. “His understanding of the character is so complete and so profound,” Chbosky says in a Vanity Fair interview. “I couldn’t imagine anybody else playing it. It’s his part. I felt very strongly about it. And to me, it was never even a consideration.”
Platt notes that he put a lot of effort into preparing for this on-screen role and expects this to be the last time he plays a high schooler. “[Before filming] I’d lost about 15 pounds and did a very specific diet, grew my hair out, and was shaving to make sure that I didn’t look like I had five o’clock shadow all the time, you know,” Platt says. “I was just stripping myself into being a teenager for the last time. For what is hopefully the last time.”
Watch the full trailer here:
