Wicked fans have come together to campaign against James Corden joining the cinematic adaptation of this popular musical, but what’s the reason behind it all? Musicals continue to be a source of inspiration for the film industry, and adaptations of successful plays have become very frequent in recent years, though not all of them have been as well-received as the original work. One of the most popular and beloved musicals is Wicked, which (surprisingly) hasn’t been adapted to the big screen yet – but that’s finally about to change.
Based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire and which is a retelling of L. Frank Baum’s classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (and the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz), Wicked follows the two witches of the Land of Oz: Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) and Galinda (Glinda the Good Witch). Told through their perspectives and beginning before Dorothy’s arrival in Oz and continuing after it, Wicked sees the two witches struggling through their opposing personalities and their rivalry over different topics and situations. A film adaptation of Wicked has been in development since 2004, and it’s finally happening with Jon M. Chu as director, but there’s one person fans don’t want to see in it: James Corden.
In November 2021, it was revealed that Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have signed to star in Wicked as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, giving fans a lot more hope about the movie really happening this time. The film adaptation of Wicked has gone through multiple delays and changes over the years, but with Chu, Grande, and Erivo now officially on board, it all points at the movie finally happening and releasing in the near future (most likely in 2023), but Wicked fans have one big concern: James Corden, the late-night talk show host and actor whose popularity has been decreasing in recent years. Fans of Wicked have gone as far as to create a petition on Change.org to prevent James Corden from joining the cast, and it’s all based on his very bad history with musical adaptations… and that the audience doesn’t like him anymore.
Corden is best known for being the host of The Late Late Show with James Corden, but he also has an acting career that was boosted when he started taking on musical roles. Corden played The Baker in Into the Woods, Bustopher Jones in Cats, Barry Glickman in The Prom, and James (a mouse) in Amazon Prime Video’s Cinderella, with the last three being panned by critics and destroyed online by viewers, including Corden’s performances. As mentioned above, Corden is currently one of the internet’s most disliked celebrities for different reasons, such as his attitude in front and behind the cameras and his insistence on always making musical numbers, as many viewers don’t find him talented enough to do so.
Taking all this into account, it’s understandable that Wicked fans don’t want to see James Corden in the movie adaptation of their favorite musical, and with the reputation and bad track record he currently has, his involvement would ultimately be detrimental to the performance of the movie – and after all the problems the Wicked film adaptation has already been through, the studio surely wouldn’t want any more complications.