A ‘Wicked’ Movie Is Still On The Way, Stage Musical Creator Insists
SomethingWickedthis way…still comes. Two years after a film adaptation of the smash hit stage musical was announced, Universal struckWicked’splanned 2019 release date from its roster. But the musical’s creatorStephen Schwartzinsists that — despite the lack of a release date — theWickedmovie is still in the works.
Schwartz is defying gravity to get his immensely popular stage musical to the big screen. In an interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, Schwartz assured that “100 percent there will be a movie ofWickedand it won’t be that far away but it won’t be next year because we’re still writing. Pre-production hasn’t even begun but that could start in the not-too-distant future.” He added:
“That being said, we’re making really good progress. The screenplay has gone through a few drafts. In fact, while I’m out here, I’m going to be seeing Winnie [Holzman] and we’re working on the most recent draft.”
In 2016, Universalannouncedthat a feature film adaptation ofWickedwas in the works withWinnie Holzmanand Schwartz, who wrote the book of the musical and the music/lyrics respectively, involved in the project. The wildly popular musical has seen an unbroken Broadway run since it premiered in 2003 and this year surpassedA Chorus Lineto become Broadway’s sixth-longest running show.Wickedhas spawned several international productions and garnered three Tony Awards and six Drama Desk Awards, while its original cast album received a Grammy Award.
But that stage success seemingly hadn’t translated to silver screen success, as development appeared to stall after the film adaptation was first announced two years ago. Universal had set a release date forDecember 20, 2019, but earlier this summer droppedWickedfrom its release schedule and replaced it with another musical adaptation:Cats. Three years seemed like it would have given plenty of time to adapt the belovedWicked, but Schwartz insists to THR, “That was always a fake date. There wasn’t a prayer in hell.”
Perhaps the sweet time that Schwartz and co. is taking with this film has to do with whether they plan to do a straight adaptation of the stage musical. The musical itself is a an adaptation ofGregory Maguire’s novelWicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which offered a dense, politically-charged reinterpretation of the villain inThe Wizard of Oz. The musicalWickedis a much bubblier version of this story, which follows the relationship between Elphaba, who is destined to become the Wicked Witch of the West, and her friend Glinda the Good Witch.
