One of the longest-running Broadway shows of all time is getting a movie adaptation.
Universal Pictures has given the go signal for the Wicked adaptation, also announcing that the musical will hit theaters on Dec. 20, 2019, which puts it head-to-head with a yet-to-be-announced live-action adaptation of a fairy tale from Disney. Stephen Daldry is set to direct, while Marc Platt is on board the project as a producer.
Wicked is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is also an alternate retelling of the Wizard of Oz and the L. Frank Baum classic of the same title from the point of view of the witches.
Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz and writer Winnie Holzman, who have collaborated on the Broadway show, will be reuniting to work alongside each other again for the movie adaptation.
Wicked is a Tony Award-winning show, bagging three out of the 10 it has been nominated for. It propelled the careers of Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, who played Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, and is now on its 13th-year run, besting Rent for the distinction of being the 10th longest-running show on Broadway of all time. In March, the production crossed the $1 billionth mark for grosses, with worldwide ticket sales amounting to $4 billion.
Speaking of top-grossing shows, Hamilton will be saying goodbye to its Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda, after nearly three years. He will be replaced by Javier Muñoz, his longtime alternate, starting July 11.
But while Miranda will be stepping off the stage, he's not going to be taking some time off. If anything, he will be busier, what with a gig in the upcoming Mary Poppins sequel as the street lamplighter Jack, among others. He also wrote music for Moana, which opens in November, and will be producing for the film adaptation of In The Heights.
Before he leaves Hamilton on July 9, Miranda and the rest of the musical's original cast will be filming a show. Anyone looking to enjoy the show on a screen will have to wait some more because the footage will not be released this year. Additionally, Miranda said that there won't be a Hamilton movie anytime soon either, as he wants as many people as possible to enjoy the musical live before it gets adapted for the big screen.
There will, however, be a mixtape and documentary about Hamilton that will be released in October that fans can look forward to.
