Jon M. Chu, the director of “Crazy Rich Asians” and “In the Heights”, is conquering the land of Oz. He inherited Stephen Daldry’s filmmaker duties in “Wicked”, Universal’s film adaptation of the hit musical.
Daldry left the project, which has been under construction for more than a decade, last October due to schedule conflicts. It is not yet clear who will star in the film, or when it will be released. “Wicked” was pulled from Universal’s film programming amid the coronavirus pandemic.
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A prequel to “The Wizard of Oz”, “Wicked” tells the story of everything that happened before Dorothy fell into Oz. In their original Broadway season, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth portrayed best friends and mortal enemies – Elphaba (the eventual Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda (the Good Witch). Before extended theater closings, “Wicked” was one of the oldest shows on the Great White Way.
Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the song and lyrics for the Broadway show, is adapting the script with Winnie Holzman. Marc Platt, producer of the musical, is also producing the film. Along with classics like “Defying Gravity” and “Popular”, the film version must feature at least two new songs.
Chu fits perfectly, having recently directed “In the Heights”, the film adaptation of the musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda. This Warner Bros. film is slated to open in theaters and HBO Max in June. Chu also successfully adapted the hit romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians”.
Chu is represented by UTA, Artists First Inc and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher, LLP.
Deadline first reported the news.
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