'Wicked' fans petition against James Corden being cast in film adaptation
Wicked fans have set up a petition to stop James Corden being cast in the big screen adaptation of the hit musical - clocking up over 27,000 signatures in just three days.
The 43-year-old British actor and TV presenter - best known for starring in BBC sitcom Gavin and Stacey and hosting The Late Late Show in the US - has had less than favourable reviews for his performance in musical movie adaptations such as Cats and The Prom recently.
Ariana Grande and Widows star Cynthia Erivo have been announced as playing witches Glinda and Elphaba in the film version of The Wizard Of Oz origins stage show, which will be directed by Crazy Rich Asians filmmaker Jon M. Chu.
Read more: James Corden and Ariana Grande's end of lockdown skit blasted as 'out of touch'
Corden has not been cast in the Wicked movie, but a petition had been set up on change.org titled "Keep James Corden out of Wicked the movie."
And the time of publication it has 27,608 signatures.
Corden's name trended on social media shortly after Wicked announced Grande and Erivo would star in the movie, with people imploring him to “stay away” from the project.
The Late Late Show host was panned last year for his “horrific” portrayal of a gay character in Netflix musical The Prom.
It came just a year after his performance in the Cats movie - which was ridiculed by critics and even fell flat with the musical's writer Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Baron Lloyd Webber voiced his dislike of Corden's “unfunny interpolations”, admitting he "begged" to have them cut out of the film.
Read more: 'Friends' fans fuming about James Corden hosting reunion
Corden starred as The Baker in Rob Marshall's big screen adaptation of West Musical Into The Woods in 2014.
And he recently performed dressed as a rat on a Los Angeles traffic crossing to promote new Amazon Prime musical movie Cinderella, along with its stars Camila Cabello, Billy Porter and Idina Menzel as part of his Crosswalk: The Musical segment for The Late Late Show.
Watch: James Corden recreate Casino Royale with Daniel Craig