‘Wicked’ Director Jon M. Chu Gives An Update On Its Halted Production

Following the news that the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) had joined the Writers Guild of America in its strike, actors everywhere walked off red carpets and movie sets. This included the highly anticipated cinematic adaptation of Wicked.

Reports that the set of Oz now looks like a ghost town underline how serious this latest development is for Hollywood.

As fans eagerly await updates, director Jon M. Cho has officially confirmed that production has ceased — for now — on the films. It’s an especially bittersweet update as he says they were merely days away from completion.

Cho shared the news via his Instagram story. “Not done yet,” he began in the statement. “Just pause until the strike is over and we can finish the last pieces of the movie.”

“We were only a few days away from being done so we were SO close,” he shared, promising that it’s only a matter of time until the films are completed. “It’s been very painful to put a halt to it all but we will be back!

And we will finish properly strong when the time is right.”

Cho continued by sharing that the cast and crew are in his thoughts during this challenging time. “My heart goes out to our cast and crew who were cut short of what we came here to complete together,” he said.

And he closed with a message of hope for the future of Wicked: “More to come but in the meantime, I’m excited to excavate what we have shot for the past year here in Oz (release date shouldn’t be affected). It has been an extraordinary adventure… more to do.”

For now, the strike is still very much going strong, with SAG-AFTRA issuing warnings to influencers crossing picket lines yesterday and the U.K. Actors Union joining in solidarity.