How come Mamma Mia has become a movie, but Wicked hasn't yet?

Question

Mamma Mia came out in 2002 on stage and now it's a film.

I know that Wicked may be an anniversary celebration, but how come it's taken 5 years for Mamma Mia to be a film and it will take about 3 more years for Wicked to be a film?

Answer 1

Rights were probably more available for Mamma Mia.  And the appeal goes to a broader base.  Not only does it go to the current theatre goers who have seen and love the show, myself included, but it reaches out to the people that know and love the music of ABBA.  

Also, consider how long it took for RENT to turn into a movie, and that was one of the most popular broadway shows of ALL TIME.

Answer 2

Mamma Mia Is A Couple Of Years Older Then Wicked, Which Means It Is Probably More Popular Than Wicked The Musical. I Find Mamma Mia Most Fascinating.

Answer 3

Because Mama Mia is older than Wicked.

Answer 4

i LOVE both musicals mamma mia is older and abba rock.someone did tell me that there would be a wicked movie in few years and this person is like a superfan.mamma mia came to the stage in 1999.but like yourself i cant wait im such a fan ive seen it 3 times in london and was lucky to be in an armature production of wicked in belfast.

Answer 5

From 2 interviews with Gregory Maguire (author of Wicked, basis for the musical of the same name) in March of this year (2008).

Interview #1 March 9, 2008

According to Maguire, there are plans to bring out a film version of “Wicked” in the year 2014. “That’s the 10-year anniversary of its Broadway debut,” he said, “which is exactly what happened when the play ‘Chicago’ came out as a film a few years ago. Since ‘Wicked’ is breaking attendance records all over the world, there’s no need to rush a film out now.”

Interview#2 March 6, 2008

Q: What was your reaction when they first talked to you about your novel Wicked being made into a musical? Has anyone ever asked you about it being made into a film?

GM: Within 10 days of the book's publication in the US, I started to get film offers. I had three and a half years' worth of film scripts, each one of which was worse than the one before!

When that interest began to erode (Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings hadn't come out yet) and the notion of a Broadway play came up instead, really in my heart of hearts I just thought [*singing and leaping from his chair*] 'Broadway!'. What was not to love about it?

There will eventually be a film of Wicked the musical but probably not for four or five years.

Answer 6

I'm going to offer a very abstract, not so nice analogy, and hope you GET IT.

   I suspect whoever held the purse, realized it was time to "Drown the Cat, but keep the rope and Cinder Block."

Answer 7

The rights for Wicked haven't been allowed yet.