Much like Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Tony-winning musical In The Heights, Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s Broadway tentpole Wicked has traversed a very rocky road towards its big, long-announced Hollywood adaptation. Seriously, we’ve been on this beat since 2011 (and it was in talks way before that) when Ryan Murphy was rumored to direct and Brett Ratner inexplicably wanted in on the project. We’ve witnessed a parade of false starts, departed directors, and at least one very confident tweet from Universal Pictures pegging the film’s release to December 2019. As long as there’s a Development Limbo, there’s at least one stunted Broadway-To-Big Screen project occupying its neutral space patiently while singing some gorgeous, sad-ass ballad.
The mellifluous Wizard Of Oz now shares another commonality with In The Heights: Jon M. Chu’s involvement. According to Deadline and Variety, the Crazy Rich Asians director has stepped in to take over for Stephen Daldry, who had to drop the project due to scheduling conflicts. This could result in a rather promising development. After all, Chu was the director that brought Miranda’s long-awaited adaptation to completion and made a solid release date possible. For his part, Chu seems really excited to be a part of this winding journey. “Most of my life I have felt out of place, weird and different. I hid behind my camera because people liked to be filmed and I could disappear.”
He continues: “But when I saw Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s Wicked over 15 years ago as it was being workshopped in San Francisco I couldn’t unsee it. So to think that I have been invited to bring this timeless story to the biggest screens all around the world for people to experience with their family, best friends and total strangers… of all walks of life, ages, shapes and colors is like I’ve been invited to Oz by the Wizard himself.”
He even went as far as to encourage a bit of fan casting, asking his many followers to suggest talent for the leading roles. As a tacit rule, you don’t get a theater nerd’s hopes up if you don’t seriously plan to deliver something. If anyone can manage it, it’s him. (We hope.)
As of right now, Wicked does not have any attached creators beyond Chu, nor does it have a set premiere date.
11 Comments
I really didn’t love Crazy Rich Asians, nor am I interested in most of Chu’s past movies. We’ll see how In The Heights turns out, but I’d have Michael Gracey waiting in the wings. I thought The Greatest Showman turned out pretty well if a little conventional. I’d say the cast was pretty stacked, and Gracey didn’t waste all that talent.
This gave me pause. I legitimately thought a Wicked movie had already come and gone.
It did! Released the same weekend as the Berenstein Bears animated movie and that tragic biopic about Mandela’s death in prison in 1980
Jon M. Chu is one of those directors where I can’t tell if they’re any good. I say that as someone who liked his G.I. Joe movie even though it was a complete mess.
I wonder if Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth are too old for the roles they originated on Broadway.
I would say so – they’re both around 50, whereas the characters are supposed to be young women.
There was a time when I was sure that a movie version would star Lea Michele and Kristen Bell, but now I think maybe even they’ve aged out of it?
I’m sure Hollywood’s just gonna predictably shoehorn that insufferable James Corden into that Elphaba role.
Billie Eilish and JoJo Siwa
We live in the worst timeline, but I take comfort in the fact we aren’t in the even worse timeline that would have subjected us to Lea Michele as Elphaba. It’s probably the same timeline where she got to star in the Funny Girl revival she was so desperately gunning for.
Ariana Grande as Elphaba. No seriously. She started on Broadway and performed on a Wicked anniversary special a few years ago and absolutely knocked it out of the park:
Wicked is perfection – I may be biased because I saw it with my favourite ex! Real shame they waited this long to make it. Hoping they’ll use relative unknowns than some of the popular names. And please God, do not have James Corden in the cast.