Search icon

Entertainment

04th Feb 2021

Wicked the musical is officially being turned into a movie

There's a new director on board.

Niamh Maher

The film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical has been given another shot.

After a lot of back-and-forth there’s a new director on board for the film adaptation of Wicked and it seems things are back on track. In October, Stephen Daldry, director of Billy Elliot and The Crown, exited the project due to scheduling conflicts and this plunged the long-awaited film into a release date purgatory. It seems a saviour has been found in the form of Crazy Rich Asians director, Jon M. Chu, who has signed up to helm the feature.

Based on the Stephen Schwarz award-winning musical, the Wicked movie is an alternative telling of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, from the perspective of the witches. The film was originally set for release on December 22, 2021 and has been in development for over a decade. It was recently taken off Universal’s release schedule amid the pandemic and cast members have yet to be announced.

Featuring songs like Defying Gravity, Popular and For Good, the original Broadway production debuted with musical stalwarts Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in the lead roles. The show is currently the 5th longest-running in Broadway history having made its debut in 2003, and seen as it will probably be another while till we have a trailer to share, here’s a clip of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth rehearsing back in the early noughties.

You’re welcome.