close
close

Adam McKay says “Wicked” could be “banned in three to five years” if “America keeps this up” and “That wouldn’t surprise me.”

Adam McKay says “Wicked” could be “banned in three to five years” if “America keeps this up” and “That wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Wicked” was briefly pulled from theaters in Kuwait reportedly because of its LGBTQ cast, but could the blockbuster musical ever be banned entirely in the United States? Filmmaker Adam McKay “wouldn’t be surprised” if the film was canceled in the next few years due to America’s political developments.

The “Don’t Look Up” director shared his “Wicked” thoughts on Tuesday on I know “Part 2” takes a bit of focus, but “Part 1” is bluntly about radicalization in the face of careerism, Fascism and propaganda.”

More of diversity

He continued: “What’s really striking about ‘Wicked Part 1’ is that it’s coming out NOW, when America has never been more right-wing and propagandistic than ever before.” And yes, I know that the theater production and the book are much older , so some of the timing is a coincidence, but still…”

Responding to another X user who was surprised at his opinion of the film, McKay wrote: “I think you will be shocked. If America continues like this, I wouldn’t be surprised if the film is banned in three to five years.”

McKay is no stranger to political films. His most recent film, 2021’s Don’t Look Up, was a contemporary apocalyptic thriller about how the world would react (badly) to a catastrophic meteor. He previously made “Vice,” a political satire about former US Vice President Dick Cheney, and “The Big Short,” about the 2007 U.S. housing market crash. He compared “Wicked” to other “radical big studio” films like “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Searchers,” “Citizen Kane,” and “The Hunger Games.” Of the 2012 Jennifer Lawrence film, he wrote: “It’s a big movie. It’s incredibly left-leaning.”

He went on to say that “Wicked” is “VERY radical.” “My daughter told me the book was wild and worth a read,” McKay added of the 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” which inspired the Broadway musical.

“Wicked” is expected to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and it recently received nominations for Best Musical/Comedy and Best Acting for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.

McKay raved about Grande’s performance as Glinda, writing, “Ariana Grande is also incredible. It’s as good an achievement as any other genre.”

The best of diversity

Sign up for Variety’s newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *