James Corden’s, um, checkered history with musicals has got some Broadway fans hoping he’ll steer clear of the hotly anticipated “Wicked” movie.
An online petition addressed to Universal Pictures, which is producing the forthcoming film, is urging the studio to nix the “Late Late Show” host as a casting choice.
“James Corden in no way shape or form should be in or near the production of ‘Wicked’ the movie,” the petition reads. As of Monday afternoon, it had more than 37,000 signatures.
Over the weekend, Corden’s name began trending on social media in connection to the film and, needless to say, many of the comments were not supportive.
Prior to his global fame as a late-night host, Corden received glowing reviews and a Tony Award for his performance in the 2012 play “One Man, Two Guvnors,” which transferred to Broadway after a successful run in London.
Much of the aversion to his prospective “Wicked” casting, however, stems from his previous roles in movie adaptations of Broadway hits, including 2014’s “Into the Woods” and 2019’s “Cats.”
Last year, he starred opposite Meryl Streep in the Netflix musical “The Prom,” and his portrayal of a gay, out-of-work actor who rallies on a lesbian teen’s behalf was scorched by critics. Vanity Fair deemed his performance “both appalling and terminally bland,” while Newsweek called him “offensively miscast.”
Representatives for Corden did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 book, “Wicked” is a reimagining of “The Wizard of Oz” as told from the perspective of Oz’s witches Elphaba and Glinda. The musical premiered on Broadway in 2003 and starred Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, the latter of whom won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Elphaba.
Buzz about a movie adaptation began shortly thereafter, but the idea languished in development until earlier this year when it was announced that Jon M. Chu, whose credits include “Crazy Rich Asians,” had been tapped to direct.
Last week, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande officially joined the project to play Elphaba and Glinda, respectively.