Jon M. Chu is taking his talents to Paramount Skydance. The “Wicked” director has inked a multi-year first-look film and TV deal with the David Ellison-led studio.
Though Chu most recently helmed the blockbuster musical “Wicked: For Good” for Universal, he and his Electric Somewhere production banner previously had a deal at Warner Bros., where he made “Crazy Rich Asians” and “In the Heights.” Now, Chu joins an impressive roster of talent with new pacts at Paramount Skydance, including Matt and Ross Duffer, James Mangold and Will Smith.
The three-year producing deal goes into effect on Jan. 2. Chu and his production company will be based on the Paramount lot and work closely with Paramount Pictures co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, Motion Picture Group president Don Granger, and Paramount Television Studios president Matt Thunell.
News of Chu’s move comes as “Wicked For Good” continues to break box office records and garner awards buzz, like its predecessor, which won 2 Oscars from 10 nominations among numerous other accolades. (Earlier on Wednesday, “For Good” was named one of the National Board of Review’s 10 best films of the year.) 2024’s “Wicked,” starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, became the highest-grossing film adaptation of a Broadway musical ever, earning more than $756 million worldwide. The follow-up, which launched in November, now holds the record for the biggest global opening ever for a movie based on a Broadway show, and the second-highest opening at the domestic box office this year. To date, “For Good” has earned $393.3 million globally, including $122 million internationally and $270 million domestically.
Following “Wicked,” Chu has a full dance card of projects in the works at a few different studios: he’s attached to direct the forthcoming Britney Spears biopic at Universal, as well as a live-action Hot Wheels movie at Warner Bros. and the animated film adaptation of Dr. Seuss’s “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” with Ariana Grande and Josh Gad leading the voice cast. He’s also set to helm another stage-to-screen musical in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
Chu is repped by UTA, Artists First, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson and Christopher, LLP, and ID PR.
