Jon M. Chu to Direct Film Adaptation of Hit Musical ‘Wicked’

February 3, 2021

Filmmaker Jon M. Chu has officially been chosen to direct the film adaptation of “Wicked,” the hit Broadway musical.

The film adaptation of “Wicked,” which has been in development for over a decade, was set to be released by Universal this year. However, its release date has been pushed back due to the pandemic. No other details about the upcoming film, including its cast and new release date, have been revealed.

The “Crazy Rich Asians” director will take over the directorial duties of Stephen Daldry, who was initially attached to direct the project, Variety reports. Scheduling conflicts reportedly caused Daldry to leave the film last October.

Chu took to Instagram to share his excitement about the recent announcement.

“Most of my life I have felt out of place, weird and different,” Chu wrote. “I hid behind my camera because people liked to be filmed and I could disappear. 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.”

“So, who wants to be Elphaba and Glinda?” added Chu, supposedly hinting at an upcoming casting call.

Chu recently directed the film adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical “In the Heights,” which will be released in June in theaters and on streaming platforms.

Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the Broadway musical, and Winnie Holzman, who wrote its book, will work together to adapt the screenplay for the upcoming film.

The musical “Wicked” is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” Maguire’s novel is a prequel to L. Frank Baum’s “The Wizard of Oz” and tells the story of best friends Glinda (the Good Witch) and Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) before they became mortal enemies.

Feature Image via Getty (Left), BwayAmerica (Right)

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