Wicked (2019) will have four new songs. Wicked composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz spoke at Comic-Con yesterday, where he listed off the few facts he was at liberty to share about the highly anticipated 2019 film.
According to a video posted on Instagram from yesterday’s “Behind the Music” panel, here’s exactly what Schwartz said:
In Los Angeles we actually started working on the Wicked movie. So we’re four days into that. And it officially opens, the movie premieres December 20, 2019. I can tell you that the screenplay for the movie is being written by Winnie Holzman, who wrote the script for the show, and she’s hard at work at that. It’s gonna be directed by Stephen Daldry, who directed the movie The Hours (2002) and Billy Elliot (2000), among many others. I can tell you that at least as of now there will be probably four new songs in the movie and as of now I’m also planning…
The video abruptly cuts off at that point, so those of us who weren’t there won’t get to know what else Schwartz is planning. But the admission that the film will have four additional songs is huge news; Wicked fans haven’t heard much in the way of creative decisions about the film, and this is the first tidbit that the creators have shared. Of course, some of the play’s songs (think “Defying Gravity” or “For Good”) have become iconic on and outside of Broadway, so fans will be eager to hear what else Stephen Schwartz can come up with for Elphaba, Galinda, and their friends.
With any luck, we’ll get some more Wicked news out of Comic-Con… maybe even some casting? Keep your fingers crossed.
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