Aristotle And Dante - What We Know So Far

Known for his musical work like "Hamilton" and the songs for Disney hit "Moana," producer Lin-Manuel Miranda is now behind a YA adaptation. The Hollywood Reporter announced that the young adult novel "Aristotle and Dante Discover The Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is being adapted for the screen with Miranda serving as producer. It will also have the shorter and simpler title of "Aristotle and Dante," at least for now.

Writing and directing is Aitch Alberto, making her official film debut after originally working on the upcoming HBO Max series "Duster" (NALIP). Actress Kyra Sedgwick will also be co-producing alongside Valerie Stadler and Miranda. The production company announced to be financing the film is Limelight, who also released the recent Andy Samberg streaming hit "Palm Springs."

But what other information is out there about "Aristotle and Dante"? Here's everything we currently know about the release date, cast, and plot of the upcoming film.

There's no release date for "Aristotle and Dante" right now, as the film was just announced by Limelight as being in development. That means the producers are only in the planning and pre-production stages, including casting and figuring out the logistics of the shoot, as well as storyboarding and location scouting. Even if they wanted to, they can't give the film's release date to the public yet.

Given that it takes about a year for a film to go through pre-production, shooting the script, then editing and post-production work, don't expect "Aristotle and Dante" to arrive in theaters and/or on a streaming service anytime soon. It's most likely that the film will be ready for release in late 2022 or even early 2023. The production process could also be complicated by the continuing COVID-19 pandemic as well as the ongoing struggles with IATSE and Hollywood producers. If shooting is delayed, then the movie will likely come out sometime in 2023 at the latest.

The most famous names in the "Aristotle and Dante" cast are arguably Eva Longoria ("Desperate Housewives") and Eugenio Derbez, best known for "Overboard" and "Dora and the Lost City of Gold." However, the title characters will be played by two young actors: Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales. Both have a small amount of credits on IMDB but this will be the biggest role yet for either performer.

Other actors who will be part of the ensemble include Isabella Gomez, known for her role on the Netflix series "One Day At A Time"; Veronica Falcon, who recently appeared in "Perry Mason" and Disney's "Jungle Cruise"; Luna Blaise of "Fresh Off The Boat" and "Manifest"; and Kevin Alejandro, whose show "Lucifer" recently concluded. None of the characters each actor is playing has been named other than the leads, but it's quite an assembly of young and older talent overall. It'll be exciting to see their performances when "Aristotle and Dante" is finally released.

Set in 1987, "Aristotle and Dante" focuses on Aristotle "Ari" Mendoza and Dante Quintana, two 15-year-old Mexican American boys on the cusp of adulthood. After a chance meeting by a pool in El Paso, Texas, Ari and Dante begin a complicated friendship as each struggles with race, gender, family, and their own burgeoning sexualities.

The novel has received critical acclaim for its positive treatment of masculinity and homosexuality, with author Sáenz even noting in an interview with NPR that "I've never had a book with this kind of response, not ever." He wrote the book with the hope that young Latino men would identify with it, which seems to be the case.

It will be interesting to see how the script adapts Sáenz's material to the screen, but hopefully it will keep the themes that resonated with so many people. We'll find out more about the changes from page to screen when "Aristotle and Dante" arrives hopefully later next year.