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Tag: Wizard of Oz

  • ‘Wicked’ Adaptation Adds Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible

    ‘Wicked’ Adaptation Adds Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible

    It seems like the casting for Wicked has continued, as The Hollywood Reporter has just revealed one more addition to the cast. The adaptation by Universal Pictures has now locked in MIchelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, who is the head of Elphaba’s school. Cynthia Erivo is set to take on the role of Elphaba with Arana Grande already ast as Glinda. Jeff Goldblum is also part of the cast as thee Wizard while Jonathan Bailey has been cast as Fiyero. The cast also includes SpongeBob Squarepants: The Musical’s Ethan Slater as Boq in the John M. Chu directed film.

    The film will be split up into two projects that are set to be shot back-to-back in January. So, we might see a few more casting announcements before Christmas rolls around. The first entry is already set for a release on December 25th, 2024. The sequel would be set for the Christmas of 2025. So, we’ll still have to wait quite a bit before we get a first look or even a tease of how they’ll adapt the iconic musical reinterpretation of The Wizard of Oz.

    Yeoh has been on a hot streak with quite a few franchise projects, and even her big role in this year’s biggest Awards contender, Everything Everywhere All At Once. She’s a legend in the industry and has picked up quite a bit of steam once again with her recent projects. She’s also set to arrive in Netflix’s upcoming The Witcher spinoff Blood Origin and who knows what other project she might already have planned.

    Source: The Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Black-ish’ Creator to Direct Warner Bros.’ ‘Wizard of Oz’ Remake

    ‘Black-ish’ Creator to Direct Warner Bros.’ ‘Wizard of Oz’ Remake

    It looks like Black-ish creator Kenya Barris is set to travel to Kansas and beyond, as he is set to direct a remake of Wizard of Oz for Warner bros. Discovery. He’s currently set to write and direct the new adaptation, which should not get mixed up with New Line’s attempt at reviving the classic storyline as well for the silver screen.

    Nicole Kassell of Watchmen fame is set to take on that adaptation of Dorothy’s travel through Oz, but the version Barris is currently working on is kept in the dark and it’s unclear how far it may move from the original franchise. It’s always interesting when two production companies try to tackle the same franchise simultaneously, though it’s unclear if we have another Jungle Book situation where two very distinct versions release within a specific time window.

    Barris is currently busy on his Netflix film You People, which he co-wrote with Jonah Hil. So, it’s quite exciting to see the trajectory of his career and what it might mean for the Wizard of Oz adaptation moving forward. It’s hard to deny that the 1939 musical was an important milestone for cinema. So, it’ll be interesting to see just how they attempt another adaptation as there’s also a duo movie adaptation of Wicked in development.

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Wicked’ Film Now Split Into Two Parts

    ‘Wicked’ Film Now Split Into Two Parts

    Here’s another film that you could possibly find under “development hell” in the dictionary, the long-awaited big-screen adaption of the hit broadway musical, Wicked. The project has been in development since 2004, never finding its footing and failing to happen. Things seem to finally be in motion with Jon M. Chu at the helm of the project. While production still ended up getting delayed, it seems some creative changes behind the project have lead to us getting a little more Wicked than we bargained for.

    Chu himself took to Twitter to announce that the Wicked film would now be split into two, rather than cram the entire musical into one. He went on to explain that it would be impossible to do the project justice by only doing one film, citing that they attempted to cut songs or reduce character arcs but it just wasn’t working out. This led to the decision to turn the adaption into a two-parter.

    Back in October, it was announced that production on Wicked would be delayed till the summer of 2022 with filming now set to take place over in the UK. Currently, the musical adaption only has two stars attached, with Ariana Grande set to play Glinda and Cynthia Erivo set to play the role of Elphaba. With production set to kick off here in a few months it seems likely we could be hearing more news on that front at any moment.

    Wicked is currently set to release in December of 2024, but no specific date has been announced just yet. It is unknown if the films will shoot back to back as of right now.

    Source: Twitter