'Dear Evan Hansen' Is Distributed by Universal Pictures — Will It Be on Netflix?

Based on Steven Levenson's hit musical, the 2021 film Dear Evan Hansen tells the unusual tale of a high schooler who finds himself at crossroads in life after one of his classmates, Connor Murphy (Colton Ryan), commits suicide.

Instead of telling Connor's family the truth, Evan Hansen (Ben Platt) chooses the path less taken and rewrites history to make it seem as though they were good friends. So, where can we watch the movie? Is it going to be available on Netflix?

The streaming platform is yet to announce plans to acquire the licenses required to carry the movie. Even though it deals with subjects somewhat similar to Netflix's popular offerings and many fans might assume it's a Netflix original, Dear Evan Hansen is distributed worldwide by Universal Pictures.

The film first premiered on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2021, at the Toronto International Film Festival. According to the latest rumors, it will likely become available on Peacock after its theatrical release on Sept. 24, 2021.

But those outside the U.S. will likely have to wait longer to catch the movie. It will arrive in theaters in Argentina on Oct. 28, 2021, for instance. Likewise, it will premiere in Sweden on Nov. 5, 2021, per IMDb.

Much like the musical, Dear Evan Hansen focuses on an adolescent struggling to fit in — so much so that he thinks it's better to lie to a recently deceased kid's family about his supposed ties to him than being left alone.

The movie garnered some criticism for its depiction of mental health issues, with many questioning its main narrative arc. Others had qualms about the motifs of the protagonist, claiming Dear Evan Hansen provides a glorified depiction of duplicitousness.

And then, of course, there are some musical lovers who dislike Dear Evan Hansen on the grounds that the original version was awarded six Tony Awards in 2017 — with lead actor Ben Platt scoring the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical — while Come From Away was awarded only one.

"Come From Away is sure getting its revenge this week for losing that Tony to Dear Evan Hansen," tweeted @FeldmanAdam.

"Dear Evan Hansen getting terrible reviews on the same day as the Come From Away proshot came out is reparations for the Tonys," wrote @rougehades.

Now 27, Los Angeles–born Ben Platt reportedly started workshopping the starring role in the musical version of Dear Evan Hansen in the mid-2010s. "I really built it with the writers and a lot of me, my rhythms, my voice, and who I am is embedded in the character," Ben told The Independent in July 2021.

Per Out, he appeared in the show eight times per week at the height of its fame. He gave his last stage performance in November 2017.

Ben got signed on to do the movie a few years later. Per Deadline, the first plans for the adaptation were put in motion circa 2019. Ben's dad, Marc Platt, is one of the producers.

But it wasn't Ben's impeccable acting or singing chops that caught the attention of fans. The face makeup he wears throughout the movie quickly became a talking point, with many wondering about whether it's CGI or old-fashioned prosthetics. At present, it's unknown how the creators achieved the effect.

"[I] 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," Ben told Variety in May 2021. "I was just stripping myself into being a teenager for the last time. For what is hopefully the last time."