Universal Pictures has announced a holiday release date of December 20, 2019 for the film adaptation of the Tony-winning musical Wicked. Idina Menzel (Frozen) and Kristin Chenoweth (The Peanuts Movie) originated the roles of Oz witches Elphaba and Glinda on Broadway. The musical has earned more than a billion dollars at the Broadway box office.
Casting for the movie has yet to be announced, however Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) has been attached to direct. Marc Platt, who produced Wicked for Broadway, will be producing the movie. Also crossing over from the play will be composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz and writer Winnie Holzman who will pen the movie screenplay. The pair adapted the stage musical from Gregory Maguire’s bestseller Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, an alternative take on L. Frank Baum’s classic The Wizard of Oz.