It has been announced that Stephen Daldry has exited as the director of Universal’s long awaited screen adaptation of Wicked.

It’s been said that the main reason for this is due to the Studio wanting the film mounted quicker than Daldry was comfortable with. Also, there is a shortage of filming stage space in London, which will make it impossible to film in the city during the desired time; something that was important to Daldry.

The film was previously due to be released around Christmas 2021 but it is more likely that filming will begin late next year now, with a new date to be announced once a new director is confirmed.

Songwriter Stephen Schwartz and book writer Winnie Holzman have teamed up on the script and Marc Platt, who produces the stage musical with David Stone, is lead producer for the film.

Wicked began life as a movie development project between Platt and Universal, before the plans changed and the now famous story headed for the stage instead, where it was an immediate hit.

It shouldn’t be a hard task to find a new director to lead the film adaptation. When the musical was first cited for a movie version, JJ Abrams, James Mangold, Ryan Murphy and Rob Marshall were among the directors who threw their hats into the ring. Plus, after wrapping West Side Story, Steven Spielberg is apparently now looking to find a new directing vehicle and could have his eye on another musical adaptation.

Watch this space for further Wicked movie updates as soon as we get them.