Wicked will finally be on the big screen, 16 years after opening on Broadway.
The movie musical adaptation of Elphaba”s story will be our Christmas gift when Universal Studios” Wicked musical hits theaters on December 20, 2019. The studio revealed the film”s release date today.
Producer Marc Platt (Into the Woods, Wanted) had previously said a 2016 release date was a “loose goal.”
Platt and Universal (the company”s Stage Productions arm) were also behind the hit Broadway show retelling the story of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Since opening in 2003, it“s become the 10th longest-running Broadway show and was nominated for 10 Tony Awards, winning three.
Stephen Daldry, known both for his Oscar-winning (The Hours) and Tony-winning (Billy Elliot) work, is set to direct the film.
No word on casting yet. Also no word on whether we”ll ever see a non-musical screen adaptation more directly adapted from Gregory Maguire”s Wicked novel. Salma Hayek was previously developing a mini-series based on the 1995 book.