“Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz confirmed in an interview with PvNew that production was shut down with just 10 days remaining to complete filming for Parts 1 and 2 of the film adaptation.
Schwartz wrote the music and lyrics for the original musical and collaborated again with book writer Winnie Holzman for the film adaptation, which stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda.
While Schwartz acknowledged that the timing was frustrating, he also expressed his solidarity with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
“It’s quite frustrating in a way because we have, I think, 10 days worth of shooting to go finish all the shooting for both movies…But on the other hand, I might as well declare it, I’m in great sympathy and support of the unions that are striking,” he said.
“Wicked” director Jon M. Chu posted on his Instagram story and tweeted about how close the production was to being completed. “We were only a few days away from being done so we were SO close. It’s been very painful to put a halt to it all but we will be back!” Chu wrote. “We stand with you,” he expressed to the “Wicked” actors on strike.
Chu also shared on Instagram that the halt to production should not affect the film’s release date. “Wicked Part 1” is scheduled to hit theaters on Nov. 27, 2024, with “Part 2” on Nov. 26, 2025.
Not done yet. Just paused until the strike is over and we can finish the last pieces of the movie. We were only a few days away from being done so we were SO close. It’s been very painful to put a halt to it all but we will be back! And we will finish properly strong when the…
— Jon M. Chu (@jonmchu) July 19, 2023
Sources added that the Universal film was “almost done” with production.
Schwartz also spoke of the important issues at stake for writers and actors on strike.
“I’m not a WGA member, but I think what they are asking for is legitimate and justified. Same for SAG. It’s just stuff that has to be addressed. I totally think they are in the right. So therefore I can’t be too angry about the inconvenience of a strike on my particular project,” he said.
“The good news for us is that we’ve been shooting for almost eight months. So they’ve got a lot. And that means there’s stuff to work on,” he added. “Obviously, I hope the strike gets settled and settled fairly, as soon as possible. But it would have been a lot more difficult if we had been filming for, you know, a week and a half, and this happened. There’s a lot of stuff that can be worked on by Jon and his team.”
Schwartz did reveal that he was able to visit the set of the “Wicked” films, which were shooting on location in the U.K. He praised the meticulous production design by Nathan Crowley.
“The sets are amazing. It’s like the old days of building these giant sets on a back lot or on a soundstage. It’s not green screen sets…They’re actually built and they’re amazing. The attention to detail kind of boggled my mind, when I would see just little labels on things or titles on books in a library and you know the camera’s never going to see this. And yet, they’re all very written out and specific to Oz, and to the characters…I was not expecting, frankly, that level of attention to detail, and it’s pretty exciting to see.” Schwartz said.
In addition to visiting the set, Schwartz has worked alongside Erivo and Grande in the recording studio in the making of the soundtrack and pre-recorded vocals.
“Needless to say, they’re spectacular singers and musicians…And they look great. Cynthia’s very beautiful in green, with the green makeup and those giant eyes. And Ariana, she always looks like Glinda to me.”
Jazz Tangcay contributed to this article.
