Maybe call it the Cats ripple effect: The film adaptation of Wicked has lost director Stephen Daldry, making it the latest turn for an adaptation that has seemingly been in the pre-production stage for years. Deadline reports that Daldry’s exit is “amicable” and a simple creative casualty of the coronavirus pandemic — but also that the film was moving at a “quicker” pace than Daldry was comfortable with. (Which is crazy to think about, given that Daldry was attached to direct Wicked as early as 2012.) A search for a new director has already begun. Universal, the studio producing the film, confirmed earlier this year that Wicked’s planned December 22, 2021 release date has been pushed back to an undefined time in 2022 “or later,” presumably to ensure that Kristin Chenoweth and Ariana Grande can clear their schedules.
