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'It's Just Been a Dream': Wicked Director Jon M Chu Says He’s ‘Already’ Developing Other Musical Projects
Wicked director Jon M. Chu opened up about his love for musicals growing up and the projects he's already working on. He also teased musical collaborators of upcoming musicals!
Director Jon M Chu’s Wicked became one of his biggest hits, grossing more than $500 at the global box office after being made on a $150 budget. Chu’s other renowned works include Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights, Step Up 2: The Streets, and others.
Since the success of Wicked gave him worldwide recognition, Chu’s been intrigued to develop more musical projects. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, the acclaimed director spoke about his future plans and the musical projects he’s “already” working on.
"I'm already developing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which is one of my favorites from growing up,” he revealed. Chu teased that they are yet to build a script but the process of collaborating with music composer Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and songwriter Sir Tim Rice has been “like a dream.”
The Broadway musical based on the biblical character Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis premiered in 1982 and included lyrics of these music legends. Apart from creating live-action musicals, Chu is ready to dip his toes into animation musicals and his project on the line is the graphic adaptation of Dr. Seuss's book, Oh, the Places You'll Go.
“I'm working with [Benj] Pasek and [Justin] Paul on that. I get to work with the best music writers in the world,” he told the outlet. Chu has collaborated with renowned composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz in Wicked.
He’s also worked with Tony, Grammy, and Emmy-winning actor/songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda in the 2021 musical In The Heights. “It's just been a dream for any director, let alone someone who loves theater," the director added.
The plan to adapt Dr. Seuss's beloved book into a motion picture has reportedly been going on since the 90s. In 2020, it was finally announced that the animated musical was in development at Warner Bros. Studios. As per CBR, Chu was brought on board in 2021 to co-direct the project with Jill Culton.
The director told the outlet that he grew up loving animated musicals like Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast among others. “To me, it was all part of the language. I don't see [music] as a separate thing. To me, it's just a part of how I tell stories -- as another expression, more than even dialogue can do,” he added.
Wicked is currently in theaters.
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