It's been waiting in the wings for more than a decade, but a film version of hit musical <em>Wicked</em> looks set to defy gravity and soar to screens. The beleaguered adaptation, which was first rumoured as far back as 2004, has tapped director Jon M Chung to helm the project, signifying it is once again a focus for Universal Pictures. The film studio first hired director Stephen Daldry to bring Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman's musical to cinemas in 2012. Cast announcements were never made, but a release date was scheduled for December 2021. However, in April 2020, amid the pandemic, Universal quietly dropped <em>Wicked</em> from its calendar, with nothing more to be heard of it until this week. <em>Crazy Rich Asians</em> and <em>In the Heights</em> director Chu confirmed on Twitter on Tuesday that he had joined the project, revealing: "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 <em>Wicked</em> over 15 years ago as it was being workshopped in San Francisco I couldn't unsee it," he continued. “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 colours is like I’ve been invited to Oz by the Wizard himself.” The director did not share any further information about a release date or anyone else attached to the project, though he did cryptically tweet: "Twitterverse, who should we cast?" <em>Billy Elliot</em> filmmaker Daldry left the adaptation last October because of scheduling conflicts, <em>Variety</em> reports. The film follows the hit musical, which debuted on Broadway in 2003. The show is itself an adaptation of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel <em>Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West</em>,<em> </em>which tells the origins story of <em>The Wizard of Oz</em>'s green-skinned antagonist. Set prior to Dorothy Gale arriving in Oz, the musical is centred on Elphaba, who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West, and her unlikely pal-turned-enemy Galinda, later known as Glinda the Good Witch. In a tale of love, friendship and loyalty, a turn of events has Elphaba deemed "wicked", as the plot weaves into the narrative of <em>The Wizard of Oz.</em> The Tony and Grammy Award-winning musical's original Broadway stars included Idina Menzel as Elphaba, Kristin Chenoweth as Galinda, and Joel Grey as the Wizard. Well-known tracks include <em>The Wizard and I</em>,<em> Something Good</em> and <em>No Good Deed</em>, with original composer Schwartz revealing the film adaptation will contain a number of new songs.