With Marc Platt attached to produce.
A big screen adaptation of ‘Wicked,’ the stage musical is in the works.
According to reports, Marc Platt, who is attached to the ‘Wanted’ sequel will produce the film.
Based on the best-selling novel ‘Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire’, the story is a re-imagining of L. Frank Baum’s classic story ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz.
Wicked concentrates on the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West and her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Their friendship struggles through their opposing personalities and viewpoints, rivalry over the same love-interest, their reactions to the Wizard’s corrupt government, and, ultimately, Elphaba’s public fall from grace. The plot is set mostly before Dorothy’s arrival from Kansas, and includes several references to well-known scenes and dialogue in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz. Think Mamma Mia! but with (more) hags.
According to Univeral’s production president (US), Donna Langley:
“Our goal now is absolutely to make the ‘Wicked’ film, but much like Judy Craymer wouldn’t give up screen rights to ‘Mamma Mia!’ until the stage show had reached its pinnacle, Marc and Stephen Schwartz are very mindful of the right timing.”
Wicked has broken box office records around the world, holding weekly-gross-takings records in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and London, and the record for biggest opening in the West End (£100,000 in the first hour on sale)