Originally scheduled for December 22, 2021, the release date for WICKED has been postponed due to the global pandemic of sars coronavirus. The composer Stephen Schwartz wants to be reassuring as to the slowdown expected in the production of the film adaptation of the famous Broadway musical, directed by the british filmmaker Stephen Daldry.

During an interview given to Entertainment Weeklythe american composer Stephen Schwartz referred to the project WICKEDin the tubes since 2004.

“Significant progress has been made both at the level of the writing of the pre-production “, “he explains. “I can’t tell you more for the moment, but we are on the right track “.

While the coronavirus causes the delay of countless blockbusters and impacts the outputs at the cinema, Universal has postponed one of WICKED originally scheduled for 22 December 2021 for the benefit of the animated film All in Scene 2directed by Christophe Lourdelet and Garth Jennings, which has also been delayed because of the epidemic.

The studio has not yet announced the new release date forecast, but Stephen Schwartz is being optimistic. “I can’t predict the date at which the shooting will begin. But the project is still in progress “he continued.

As a reminder, the british filmmaker Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot, The Hours, The Reader) directs the adaptation of the musical WICKED created in 2003 at the George Gershwin Theatre on Broadway. The film is produced by Marc Platt while Winnie Holzman, author of the original booklet, sign the script.

Based on the novel of Wicked : The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West of Gregory Maguire, using the characters created by L. Frank Baum in The Wizard of Oz — but from the point of view of the witches of Oz, before Dorothy Gale, propelled by a violent tornado, are not lands of Kansas, the piece centered on the Wicked Witch of the West serves as the prequel to the great classic Victor Fleming released in 1939 and featuring Judy Garland, Billie Burke and Margaret Hamilton. In 2004, Idina Menzel, the first interpreter of Elphaba, receives the Tony Award best actress in a musical.

The cast of WICKED has not yet been unveiled. The popstar Ariana Grande covets the role of the witch with the green skin since last September. Successor to Margaret Hamilton, Mabel King, Idina Menzel, Mila Kunis and Rebecca Mader ?

The composer of WICKED and Prince of Egypt (1998) also used the interview to indicate that he was not going to get bored during this period of social distancing : “there was one thing that I can’t talk too much. This is a project I am working on with my collaborator, and frequent Alan Menken. We are supposed to write a few songs. Therefore, we are currently in the process of doing so “, he joked.

Entertainment Weekly sees in it a reference to Disenchantedthe long awaited sequel to the Disney movie It Was Once (Enchanted in VO) carried out in 2007 by Kevin Lima with Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden and Susan Sarandon. Case to follow.

Sevan Lesaffre