As a gamer with a deep passion for musical theater and a keen interest in Hollywood history, I can’t help but ponder what could have been if the 2024 film adaptation of “Wicked” featured Demi Moore as Elphaba and Michelle Pfeiffer as Glinda. Imagine Demi, green-skinned and fierce, belting out show-stopping numbers alongside Ariana Grande’s Glinda!
Two decades ago, the Wicked movie could’ve looked very different.
Reminiscing with Vanity Fair recently, I – as a die-hard fan – had the pleasure of hearing from Marc Platt, the producer of the upcoming 2024 film “Wicked,” along with its author Gregory Maguire and composer Stephen Schwartz. They shared fascinating insights into the early attempts in the late ’90s to transform the beloved Broadway musical into a cinematic masterpiece.
He explained a scenario where celebrities such as Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman, among others, expressed interest in portraying the cherished characters Elphaba and Glinda. However, it was Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande who ended up playing these roles in this year’s adaptation of the musical instead.
Platt mentioned that he would do his best to recall the sequence of events, but as far as he remembers, when he took over as president of production at Universal, the project was already in place. It seems that Demi Moore’s company had originally optioned the project.
Back in the day, I knew that Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Witch of the West“, was destined to be an amazing movie. It turned out to be the hot topic among actors who were eager to bring this feature to life on the big screen.
Maguire mentioned that during the initial six months, celebrities such as Whoopi Goldberg and Claire Danes showed an interest in the project. Salma Hayek and Laurie Metcalf also demonstrated some interest. However, it wasn’t clear if they were all considering playing the role of Elphaba.
Moore’s production company, Moving Pictures, was particularly keen on acquiring the rights to transform it, and her immense popularity during that period – largely due to films such as “A Few Good Men,” “Indecent Proposal,” and “Striptease” – made her a powerful contender for the role of the green-skinned witch.
Previously, the author would express that they could envision Demi Moore appearing nude and green on the cover of Vanity Fair,” the speaker stated.
Throughout the process, Michelle Pfeiffer, Emma Thompson, Nicole Kidman, and no one else but them stood out as ideal candidates for Glinda, had the project ever reached that stage.
At one point, Suzanne Todd (who worked as an assistant to action-movie producer Joel Silver) disclosed that Whoopi Goldberg showed interest in acquiring the book’s rights. “Apparently, Whoopi Goldberg’s representative aimed to purchase it for her,” Todd stated, but Maguire ultimately chose Moore instead.
Moore lent her vocal talents to Disney’s animated musical “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” which featured songs jointly penned by Schwartz and himself, sparking an instant realization in him that “Wicked” should become a musical.
Before I even started reading the book, I was pursuing the rights to it,” the composer explained. “In essence, I began my pursuit right away. While I was attempting to locate the rights holders, I stumbled upon Demi’s production company and sought a meeting to persuade them against making this film and instead producing a musical.
He noted that if Moving Pictures was attached, Moore wouldn’t be singing. “Oddly enough, Demi had been the speaking voice of Esmeralda in the Disney film Hunchback of Notre Dame. She said, ‘I don’t want to do my own singing,’ and we found a soundalike who sang the character’s songs. The point being — I wasn’t going in saying, ‘Oh, let me do a musical for Demi.’ I just wanted to see if I could home in on the project.”
Despite initial struggles with the script, Schwartz successfully persuaded the copyright owners to allow him to pen Wicked into a stage musical. He went ahead and wrote it, and it premiered in 2003, where it has remained on Broadway ever since.
Back in November of 2019, the first part of the “Wicked” movie became the highest-earning film based on a Broadway production ever made. Excitingly, five years later, on November 21, 2025, you’ll find me counting down the days to catch “Wicked: For Good” at the cinema!
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2024-12-21 02:54