Paul Mescal Takes on 20 Year Filming Challenge with 'Merrily We Roll Along'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 19: Paul Mescal attends the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures 4th Annual Gala in Partnership with Rolex at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on October 19, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Emma McIntyre

Paul Mescal stars in Richard Linklater’s 20-year film project ‘Merrily We Roll Along,’ alongside Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein.

Paul Mescal is currently filming one of his most ambitious projects yet! With production having started in 2019, Merrily We Roll Along is an adaptation of a play and musical of the same name, being filmed over the course of 20 years.

Directed by Richard Linklater, Merrily We Roll Along follows Broadway composer Franklin Shepard (played by Mescal), who abandons his friends to become a Hollywood producer. The story is told over 20 years in reverse chronological order, a narrative structure previously used in films like Christopher Nolan’s Memento.

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PSA #PaulMescal is about to star in a ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ musical movie. We fear we will never recover from this. #gladiator2 #gladiator #celebrityinterview #merrilywerollalong
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Linklater is no stranger to long-term projects like this. He previously made the romantic trilogy Before, starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, starting in 1995 with Before Sunrise, continuing in 2004 with Before Sunset, and concluding in 2013 with Before Midnight—a span of nine years between each film! He also made Boyhood, a film about growing up, which was filmed over 12 years.

But Merrily We Roll Along seems to be Linklater’s lengthiest project yet. By the time the movie is released, he will be in his eighties, and Mescal will be in his forties. Joining Mescal are Ben Platt and Beanie Feldstein, who are set to play Shepard’s closest friends, Charley and Mary. Mallory Bechtel was also cast, though her role remains a mystery.

What you might have missed is that Mescal wasn’t the first choice to play the lead. Previously, Blake Jenner, best known for his role in Glee, was cast as Shepard and even filmed the first sequence of the movie. However, he dropped out after allegations of domestic abuse were made by his ex-wife, Melissa Benoist. Mescal joined the project last year, reshooting the initial scenes.

Paul Mescal, who replaced Blake Jenner in Richard Linklater's film adaptation of "Merrily We Roll Along," has already shot a segment for the film. https://t.co/QRsGOwYgEH
— Variety (@Variety) January 10, 2023

If we’re counting correctly, we might see Merrily We Roll Along sometime in the early 2040s. But if you can’t wait to hear Paul Mescal sing, you can watch his 2022 musical Carmen or listen to his background vocals in ex-girlfriend Phoebe Bridgers’ So Much Wine. Music runs in his DNA; he plays guitar and piano, and his younger sister, Nell Mescal, has been releasing music since 2020, with Paul being her biggest fan!