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MOVIES
Movies

'Wicked' movie gets December 2019 release date

Brian Truitt
USA TODAY

Christmas 2019 is going to be a witching good time at the movies.

Idina Menzel as Elphaba in the stage production of "Wicked." A new big-screen adaptation of the musical is coming in December 2019.

Universal Studios announced Thursday that Wicked, the big-screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, will be released in theaters on Dec. 20, 2019. The pre-Dorothy take on the Wizard of Oz mythology — featuring the early days of Elphaba (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) and Glinda — will be directed by Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot).

No cast has been named but Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz — who created the book and score for the stage musical respectively — are also collaborating on the film version.

Live-action musicals aiming for new movie 'Heights'

Christmas long has been a popular time to debut musicals: The sequel Mary Poppins Returns arrives Dec. 25, 2018, Annie and Into the Woods were timed to the holiday two years ago, Tom Hooper's Les Miserables was released Christmas 2012, and Chicago — which would go on to win the best picture Oscar — had a limited release in December 2002.

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