The Yellow Brick Road is looking eerily empty as production on Wicked has apparently shut down. Of course, it’s no surprise to see filming paused for the Wicked film, as it was expected that many projects would be shelved due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. With the strike now underway, reports are coming in of big budget movie productions getting halted for the foreseeable future. Images from the Wicked set, published by the Daily Mail and now floating around on social media, reveal how nobody is present in Oz, as things will be until the strike comes to a conclusion.
This marks the latest setback for a movie that has taken several years to get filming started in the first place. There have been plans to develop Wicked as a feature film for a theatrical release dating back to 2016, but progress has been very slow. The pandemic further delayed plans to start filming the movie before the project finally got on track with director Jon M. Chu. The film also stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the lead roles.
Meanwhile, there are other movies shooting in the UK that are expected to similarly be shut down because of the actors’ strike. Deadpool 3 has already paused filming, becoming one of the first major productions to be affected. Beetlejuice 2, Speak No Evil, and Avatar 3 are all also expected to be put on pause imminently.
Related: Cynthia Erivo Says Her ‘Heart Broke Open’ While Filming Song for Wicked Movie
Wicked Is Heading to the Big Screen, But Will the Release Be Delayed?
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Inspired by The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Wicked was originally created as the novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. It was adapted as a highly-successful stage musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman. It is a prequel, exploring how Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) goes on to become the Wicked Witch of the West. Ariana Grande co-stars as Galinda Upland, aka Glinda the Good. Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, and Michelle Yeoh also star.
“I think this film is both an homage to the show and the book,” Erivo said of what’s different about the movie, per Collider. “We also get to create something really new and slightly different to what you’d be used to seeing. We’re lucky, in that we have the space to really fill the world and to really fill these characters. You’ll be able to get into the psyche of these women. You’ll get to know them more. You will live with them a lot more, and you’ll live with them a lot longer. I think it’s really special that we get to reintroduce these two women to you, in a slightly different way.”
Jon M. Chu is directing the film. The screenplay comes from Holzman and Schwartz. Marc Platt and David Stone are producing.
As of now, Wicked: Part One is scheduled to be released in movie theaters on Nov. 27, 2024, while Wicked: Part Two is set to follow on Nov. 26, 2025. Depending on how long the strike lasts, both of these dates could end up getting delays.
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