If you’re a resident of London or, like me, you’ve visited the capital now and again over the last decade, you’ll have noticed one constant on your way up and down the tube station escalators: posters for the hit musical Wicked. Its incredible success and longevity has meant that it has been crying out for a movie adaptation to be made, something that has been in the offing for some years now.
Thankfully, we can now confirm that this is to become a reality at long last, with Universal Studios having announced a release date for December 20, 2019.
And with Stephen Daldry on board to direct, it’s looking likely that the success Wicked has enjoyed down Broadway and the West End will be translated to the big screen and may even see it take over from Mamma Mia as Universal’s most successful theatre-to-film incarnation. Marc Platt will take on the production duties.
Wicked began life in 1995 as Gregory Maguire‘s fan-fiction work Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a rehash of The Wizard of Oz that told the story from the perspective of the witches rather than Dorothy. Winnie Holzman then wrote the book for the subsequent musical interpretation, which soon became a staple of theatres after its debut in San Francisco in 1998. Incidentally, Holzman will be joining forces with lyricist-composer Stephen Schwartz to pen the film’s script.
Of course, if you’re intrigued by all of this but can’t wait until Yuletide 2019, Wicked isn’t going anywhere just yet, so a trip down the West End could well be in order. Do you think the film is nailed-on for success? Are there any other musicals that you think should be given the silver screen treatment? Let us know!
Discussion feed