John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon, The Bourne Identity, Solo: A Star Wars Story, Happy Feet, Don’t Worry Darling) has recently been recording his underscore for the upcoming film adaptation of the stage musical Wicked. The movie is directed by Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights) based on the hit musical created by Stephen Schwartz & Winnie Holzman and stars Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, as well as Jeff Goldblum as the legendary Wizard of Oz. The fantasy adventure tells the untold story of the witches of Oz: Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin and Glinda, a popular young woman who has yet to discover her true heart. As previously reported, Schwartz is also contributing new songs to the movie and its second part. Marc Platt (La La Land, The Little Mermaid) is producing the project with David Stone who also produced the stage musical. Powell has been recording his score at AIR Studios in London. Wicked will be released on November 22, 2024 by Universal Pictures and the second part is scheduled to be released on November 26, 2025.
Powell’s other upcoming feature projects include Locksmith Animation’s feature That Christmas, which premiere later this year on Netflix, as well as Dean DeBlois’ live-action How to Train Your Dragon movie, which is currently scheduled to be released on June 13, 2025 by Universal Pictures.
