Production on the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical “Wicked” at Universal has been delayed, moving its scheduled start date from March to June 2022, an individual with knowledge of the project told TheWrap.
The film, which is directed by Jon M. Chu and produced by Marc Platt, will also relocate its production to the U.K. after originally being scheduled for an Atlanta shoot, the individual added. It will be among the first films to be shot at newly built stages at Sky Studios in Elstree.
“Wicked” has not been officially greenlit and is technically still “in development,” even though the film has been trying to get off the ground since the mid-2000s when it first became a sensation on Broadway.
Director Stephen Daldry was long attached to direct the film but exited the project due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced by “In the Heights” director Chu. However, producers Marc Platt and David Stone are moving at full speed with the project.
“Wicked,” based on Gregory Maguire’s unauthorized 1995 prequel novel to “The Wizard of Oz,” charts the unlikely friendship between Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba, who would become the Wicked Witch of the West. The musical first debuted in San Francisco and Broadway in 2003 and has since become one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history, surpassing $1 billion in total Broadway revenue.
As of yet, no cast has been announced for the film, and no release date has been set, though it was at one point scheduled for a release around Christmas 2021. The film will feature music and lyrics from the original Broadway composer Stephen Schwartz and its musical book writer Winnie Holzman.
THR first reported the news.