Jon M. Chu, the director of “Crazy Rich Asians” and “In the Heights,” is taking on the land of Oz. He has inherited filmmaking duties from Stephen Daldry on “
Wicked,” Universal’s big-screen adaptation of the hit musical.
Daldry departed the project, which has been in the works for over a decade, last October
due to scheduling conflicts. It’s still unclear who will star in the film, or when it will be released. “Wicked” was taken off Universal’s film schedule amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Chu shared his excitement on social media, writing, “Most of my life I have felt out of place, weird and different. I hid behind my camera because people liked to be filmed and I could disappear.”
“But when I saw Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s ‘Wicked’ over 15 years ago as it was being workshopped in San Francisco I couldn’t unsee it,” he
said on Twitter. “So to think that I have been invited to bring this timeless story to the biggest screens all around the world for people to experience with their family, best friends and total strangers… of all walks of life, ages, shapes and colors is like I’ve been invited to Oz by the Wizard himself.”
variety.com
