Fans Petition ‘Wicked’ Producers to Not Cast James Corden in Movie Adaptation | THR News - video Dailymotion

The 'Late Late Show' host's ubiquity and previous misadventures in musicals such as 'Cats' and 'The Prom' have caused something of a backlash.

Transcript

00:00Fans are petitioning to not cast James Corden in the movie adaptation of the hit musical Wicked.

00:05The petition posted on Change.org and addressed directly to Universal, which is producing the film,

00:11has racked up over 32,000 signatures already.

00:15The petition simply states,

00:16James Corden in no way, shape or form should be in or near the production of Wicked the movie.

00:21That's pretty much it.

00:22Corden was trending on social media over the weekend after major casting announcements were made for the Wicked movie

00:27with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande playing leads Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.

00:32The hostility towards Corden seemingly stems from his presence in recent Stage 2 screen adaptations of beloved musicals,

00:39including his turns in Tom Hooper's widely criticized Cats,

00:42Ryan Murphy's The Prom, Rob Marshall's Into the Woods, and Amazon's recently released Cinderella.

00:48Corden's promo work for Cinderella, which he also co-produced,

00:51raised eyebrows on social media after a clip of the star dressed in a rat costume

00:55thrusting his groin at unsuspecting commuters stuck in L.A. traffic, went viral.

01:00Meanwhile, Universal's Wicked movie has been in the works since 2004,

01:04a year after the billion-dollar-grossing musical debuted on Broadway.

01:08The movie is set to be directed by In the Heights and Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker John M. Chu

01:12and begins production in the U.K. in June of 2022.

01:16For more on the story, head to THR.com.

01:19And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter News.

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