Director Jon M. Chu’s Wicked became one of his biggest hits, grossing over $500 at the global box office after being made on a $150 budget. Chu’s other famous works include Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights, Step Up 2: The Streets and others.
As the success of Wicked brought her worldwide recognition, Chu became interested in developing more music projects. In an interview with Comic Book Resources, the acclaimed director talked about his future plans and the musical projects he is “already” working on.
“I’m already developing Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which is one of my favorites from growing up,” he revealed. Songwriter Sir Tim Rice has been living “like a dream”.
The Broadway musical based on the Biblical character Joseph from the Bible’s Book of Genesis premiered in 1982 and featured songs by these musical giants. In addition to creating live-action musicals, Chu is also set to try his hand at animation musicals and his project is a graphic adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s book, Oh, the Places You’ll Go.
“I’ve been working on that with (Benj) Pasek and (Justin) Paul. 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 on Wicked.
He also stars with Tony, Grammy and Emmy winning actor/songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda in the 2021 musical In the Heights. The director said, “This has simply been a dream for any director, let alone someone who loves theatre.”
Plans to adapt Dr. Seuss’s beloved book into a movie have reportedly been in the works since the ’90s. In 2020, it was finally announced that an animated musical was in development at Warner Bros. Studios. According to 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 The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast. “For me, it was all part of the language. I don’t see (music) as a separate thing. For me, it’s just a part of how I tell stories – as another form of expression, more than just dialogue,” he adds.
Wicked is currently in theaters.
