'Wicked' movie to be split into 2 films, says director Jon M. Chu
Fans anxiously awaiting the film version of "Wicked" the musical will now be able to enjoy double the fun after its director said he's decided to split the film into two installments.
Director Jon M. Chu took to Twitter on Tuesday to make the big announcement, saying it would be a disservice to cram the Broadway adaptation into a single film.
"As we prepared this production over the last year, it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it," he said in a statement. "As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years."
"So we decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one Wicked movie but two!" he continued. "With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys of these beloved characters."
As previously reported, Grammy winner Ariana Grande will play Glinda the Good Witch while Tony Award-winning actress Cynthia Erivo has been cast as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.
Chu said of the leading ladies' commitment to making the film, "[We] pledge to create nothing less than an experience that honors its foundation for all fans who've waited for this movie, and to offer a thrilling, fantastical world full of dynamic characters that invites in those who are unfamiliar."
The "Crazy Rich Asians" filmmaker then unveiled the first film's release date, saying it will arrive in December 2024.
"Wicked," a musical retelling of "The Wizard of Oz" originally starring Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, made its Broadway debut in 2003. It's based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel, "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West."
