Fans petition to keep James Corden out of theatrical adaption of Wicked

Fans of Wicked have created an online petition to block actor and TV host, James Corden from appearing in the film adaptation.

The movie adaptation of the blockbuster musical Wicked is currently in development, with production set to start in summer 2022 in the UK. The two main leads have been cast but in a pre-emptive strike, fans want to ensure that James Cordon gets nowhere near the set.

The Change.org petition has reached over 61,000 signatures as of today (Tuesday 9 November). It simply states: “James Corden in no way shape or form should be in or near the production of Wicked the movie. That’s pretty much it”. 

Corden has previously starred in a number of musical movie adaptations in recent years, including The Prom, Into the Woods, Cats, and Cinderella, which was released on Amazon Prime earlier this year. His role in Cats was widely panned and currently has a 20% score on Rotten Tomatoes

Wicked debuted on Broadway in October 2003 with Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth and Joel Grey as the original cast members playing Elphaba, Glinda and the Wizard, respectively. For the adaptation, Ariana Grande has been cast in the role of Glinda and Cynthia Erivo will play Elphaba.

The musical is based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, and tells the story of Elphaba’s life prior to becoming known as the Wicked Witch of the West from L Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which was later adapted into the classic 1939 film starring Judy Garland.

The film was originally set for release in December of this year but as with many productions, the coronavirus pandemic saw it pushed back.