Jon M. Chu Will Direct The “Wicked” Movie
Wicked fans everywhere are probably belting out “What Is This Feeling?” while wiping away tears because the Wicked movie that Hollywood has been talking about for nearly two DECADES has finally gotten a new director, which means it may finally go into production in the near future.
A film adaptation of the Tony award-winning Broadway musical Wicked has been talked about since 2004, a year after Wicked’s debut. In 2012, it was reported that Universal would be producing the film. Four years later, Universal confirmed they were producing, by announcing that a Wicked movie would hit theaters in December 2019. That obviously didn’t happen. In August 2018, Universal put Wicked on ice so they could focus on the film adaptation of Cats (big mistake, huge). Universal was planning for a Wicked movie to be released in December 2021. Most recently, Universal announced that Wicked was being put on hold again because of the COVID-19 pandemic. And now, we have no idea when it will be released. Will it languish for yet another decade in Development Hell? Who is to say. But we can say that tagging along for this messy ride is director Jon M. Chu, who confirmed on Twitter what Deadline reported earlier today, which is that he’ll be directing the Wicked movie.
The next chapter. Let’s begin…
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) February 2, 2021
“Too late for second-guessing
Too late to go back to sleep
It’s time to trust my instincts
Close my eyes and leap…”#WickedMovie @UniversalPics #StephenSchwartz #WinnieHolzman #MarcPlatt it’s time.
So… Twitterverse, who should we cast? pic.twitter.com/ZaAeAJTq9f— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) February 2, 2021
Jon replaces director Stephen Daldry, who was chosen to direct back in 2012. Stephen Daldry quit the project because it was moving too slow for him. Oh really? A production timeline of nine years was too slow?
Jon M. Chu clearly is a man who isn’t afraid of potentially hearing, “So we’re looking at 2028 now…“. Because Jon directed In The Heights, which was bumped from summer 2020 to summer 2021. He’s also got the sequel to Crazy Rich Asians to keep himself busy, in the event this Wicked movie gets delayed again.
That’s all we really know about the Wicked movie right now, which honestly isn’t that much. Just that there’s a director, and that Universal is really trying to make it happen this time. Also, my deepest, most sincere condolences to Jon M. Chu. Because he’s going to have to go into hiding for at least the next couple of months. All to avoid Lea Michele, from cornering him at the supermarket to inform him that her schedule is all clear for the foreseeable future.
Pic: Wenn.com