Over 55,000 people have signed an online petition created by a ‘concerned’ fan which asks British stage actor turned U.S. talk show host James Corden to not be cast in the film adaptation of the hit musical “Wicked”.
On the big screen Corden has quickly racked up a filmography that has mostly stuck to lighter fare (comedies, family films, animated features) but more recently a large number of his films have been live-action musicals including “Cats,” “The Prom,” “Cinderella,” and “Into the Woods,” along with music-heavy films like “Yesterday”.
The frequency of his casting, and the criticism of his performances in “Cats” and “The Prom,” has been enough to apparently frustrate some theatre fans wishing for a wider variety of actors on screen.
With “Wicked” now finally moving forward and with news that Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande had been cast in the two lead roles, speculation has naturally arisen as to who will play the six other key roles in the film.
Two of those roles – the key role of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz himself, or the goat professor Dr. Dillamond – could easily cast Corden which has led to this Change.org petition.
In four days, the petition is already on track to become one of the top signed petitions of any kind on the Change.org website. Jon M. Chu is helming the new film which will begin production next Summer in the UK and is currently casting.
Source: Vanity Fair & Buzzfeed
