John M Chu to direct Wicked following exit of filmmaker Stephen Daldry

John M Chu, known for helming Crazy Rich Asians, is all set to direct the feature adaptation of Wicked. The news comes after the exit of filmmaker Stephen Daldry from the project.

The Hollywood Reporter reports that Daldry had been attached to the Universal Pictures movie for long, and that the filmmaker left the project in October due to scheduling issues.

Wicked, based on the Stephen Schwartz musical, is an alternative re-telling of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L Frank Baum's classic 1900 story of the same name, told from the perspective of the witches.

The on-screen adaptation comes from screenwriter Winnie Holsman and composer Schwarz.

The musical was initially scheduled to open in theatres on December 22, 2021, but was removed from the calendar due to the COVID19 pandemic.