Breaking News: Stephen Schwartz Reveals WICKED Movie Details, New Songs!

WICKED composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz made his first appearance at San Diego Comic-Con this year, at CW3PR's 8th Annual Behind the Music Panel, where he announced the first details of the Universal Studios Wicked movie.

The project is in development, and Schwartz is hard at work writing four new, original songs for the film, one of which was cut from the Broadway show.

No word yet on casting for the film.

The Broadway sensation, Wicked, looks at what happened in the Land of Oz...but from a different angle. Long before Dorothy arrives, there is another young woman, born with emerald-green skin, who is smart, fiery, misunderstood, and possessing an extraordinary talent. When she meets a bubbly blonde who is exceptionally popular, their initial rivalry turns into the unlikeliest of friendships...until the world decides to call one "good," and the other one "wicked."

With a thrilling score that includes the hits "Defying Gravity," "Popular" and "For Good," Broadway's Wicked is the winner of over 100 international awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards, Wicked has been performed in over 100 cities in 14 countries around the world (U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Germany, Holland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, The Philippines, Mexico, and Brazil) and has thus far been translated into six languages: Japanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean, and Portuguese.

Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, and a book by Winnie Holzman. The production is directed by Joe Mantello with musical staging byWayne Cilento. Wicked is produced by Marc Platt, Universal Stage Productions, The Araca Group, Jon B. Platt and David Stone.

Pictured: Stephen Schwartz (right) with head of CW3 Public Relations Charley Walters (left).