After an already massive opening weekend, Wicked continued to demonstrate remarkable legs over the Thanksgiving holiday, even with Moana 2 entering the marketplace. This musical feature is already the third-biggest live-action musical ever at the domestic box office, not to mention the biggest live-action musical of all time in North America that didn’t originate from Disney. Wicked’s already proven to be an impressive moneymaker and it’s far from done with its box office run, thanks to the impending December holidays. This movie’s truly “defying gravity” for its financiers.
Videos by ComicBook.com
When something succeeds in Hollywood, imitators follow. Digital 3D was slapped onto every movie after Avatar broke box office records; Shrek spawned an endless sea of snarky fairy tale movies. Inevitably, Hollywood is going to adapt more Broadway musicals into live-action movies after Wicked’s success, and there is an endless array of stage musicals out there to adapt. So which ones are most likely to hit the silver screen in the wake of Wicked? Let’s explore which live-action musicals have the best chance of reaching theaters in a post-Wicked world, starting with one that’s already played on the big screen before…
Guys and Dolls
For nearly six years, Sony/TriStar Pictures has been trying to get a new film adaptation of Guys and Dolls (which previously got adapted into a 1955 musical) off the ground. Just two months before Wicked’s debut, Chicago and The Little Mermaid helmer Rob Marshall was hired to direct the feature. With this high-profile director in place, TriStar’s Guys and Dolls could be poised to become the first major Broadway musical film adaptation to start shooting after Wicked’s success. However, this one has an uphill climb to box office stardom, as there’s already a beloved Guys and Dolls movie out there, meaning this remake will lack Wicked’s novelty of audiences finally seeing a beloved stage show in a new format.
Little Shop of Horrors
In early 2020, Warner Bros. was gearing up to finance a Greg Berlanti-directed remake of Little Shop of Horrors that could’ve starred Taron Edgerton, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evans, and Billy Porter voicing Audrey II. Plans to shoot in summer 2020 were scuttled by COVID-19, with Edgerton later claiming that this health crisis caused the project’s demise. That incarnation showed Warner Bros. has plenty of lingering interest in Little Shop of Horrors, and if anything could get Audrey II fed again, it’d be Wicked’s box office success. Perhaps this time MJ Rodriguez could reprise her stage role as Audrey?
Spamalot
The film adaptation of Monty Python’s stage play spinoff Spamalot has had a rough life. The 20th Century Fox/Disney merger killed the very first incarnation of the project. Then a revival of the production at Paramount Pictures allegedly went bust because of interference from other members of Monty Python. Perhaps Wicked will inspire these behind the scenes machinations to cease and for Spamalot to finally hit the big screen.
RELATED: The Biggest Live-Action Musical For Nearly a Decade May Surprise You
Hadestown
There’s been nary a peep about 2019 Broadway sensation Hadestown (a Tony Award winner for Best Musical) coming to the silver screen. The property’s film rights hasn’t even been acquired by a major studio yet (as far as the public knows); however, this twisting of Greek mythology has the potential for grand imagery and fantastical camerawork that you can’t do in a stage show. Plus, Hadestown is a property aimed at modern audiences, which could make it more appealing to the younger moviegoers who are helping turn Wicked into a phenomenon.
Fun Home
The beloved musical adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s seminal queer graphic novel memoir was licensed to become a film in early 2020, courtesy of producer Jake Gyllenhaal. In early 2024, the production was said to be stewing at Amazon MGM Studios as part of Gyllenhaal’s deal with the studio. If Amazon MGM Studios wants to get a big awards-friendly musical going in the wake of Wicked, Fun Home could be a great pick.
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Speaking of Amazon MGM Studios, that studio picked up the film rights to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in early 2023, and the twist is that none other than Wicked helmer Jon M. Chu is set to direct the production. A big crowdpleaser family-friendly musical like Joseph seems like a no-brainer to make in a post-Wicked world, especially since a proper big screen adaptation of the property has never happened. The question becomes, though, does Amazon MGM Studios wait for an opening in Chu’s busy schedule?
The Book of Mormon
A nonchalant reference in Heretic makes it clear that the raunchy comedy The Book of Mormon still has a sizeable grip on pop culture. Now that Paramount Pictures got Mormon masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone to direct a new live-action comedy with Kendrick Lamar for July 2025, it’s only a matter of time before the studio gets the pair to focus on bringing The Book of Mormon to the big screen.
Avenue Q
There have never been any whispers about Avenue Q coming to the big screen. However, there’s no way nobody in Hollywood is thinking about that possibility, given that Wicked and Avenue Q have such a close relationship (Q controversially beat out Wicked for the Best Musical Tony Award). Avenue Q could make for a funny lewd musical movie, but its execution would need to be handled with delicate care. Done properly, Avenue Q comes to the big screen as a meditative and timely look at how “everybody goes around a little empty inside”. If the filmmaking is lazy, though, an Avenue Q film just comes off as a retread of the already dismal adult-themed puppet film, The Happytime Murders. With Wicked’s box office haul beckoning to studio executives everywhere, though, you can be sure someone’s going to try an Avenue Q movie sooner before later.
Wicked is now in theaters with Part 2 set to follow next year.