Jon M. Chu has entered into a three-year first-look film and television deal with Paramount Skydance, marking a return to the studio landscape following successes at Universal and Warner Bros. The agreement, beginning January 2, will see Chu and his Electric Somewhere production banner based at the Paramount lot, collaborating closely with Paramount Pictures co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, Motion Picture Group president Don Granger, and Paramount Television Studios president Matt Thunell.Chu most recently directed the blockbuster “Wicked: For Good” for Universal, continuing a career trajectory that includes helming “Crazy Rich Asians” and “In the Heights” during a previous deal at Warner Bros. he joins a growing roster of prominent talent at Paramount Skydance, alongside Matt and Ross Duffer, James Mangold, and Will Smith, signaling the studio’s commitment to high-profile creative partnerships.
The deal arrives as “Wicked: for Good” continues to achieve box office success and critical acclaim.The film was recently named one of the national Board of Review’s 10 best films of the year and has earned $393.3 million globally, including $270 million domestically, as of this report. Its predecessor, 2024’s “Wicked,” starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, became the highest-grossing film adaptation of a Broadway musical ever, surpassing $756 million worldwide and holding the record for the biggest global opening for a Broadway-based movie.
Beyond “wicked,” Chu has several projects in advancement. He is attached to direct a Britney Spears biopic at universal, a live-action “Hot Wheels” movie at Warner Bros., and an animated adaptation of dr. Seuss’s “Oh the Places You’ll Go,” featuring the voices of Ariana Grande and Josh Gad. He is also set to direct a film adaptation of the stage musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
Chu is represented by UTA, Artists First, and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson and Christopher, LLP, and ID PR.
