Sabrina Carpenter, one of the biggest pop stars of the moment, is set to venture down the rabbit hole into the fantastical world of Wonderland, starring in and producing a movie musical based on Lewis Carroll’s literary children’s classic Alice in Wonderland for Universal Pictures – the same studio behind 2024’s Wicked and its forthcoming sequel Wicked: For Good. Carpenter temporarily stepped back from acting after the 2022 Netflix rom-com Tall Girl 2, as she chose to prioritize her music career. However, she has now inked a deal that will see her swap the stage for the screen (again), starring in the lead role in her first ever major studio feature.
As reported by Deadline, the latest Alice in Wonderland adaptation gets curiouser and curiouser, as the director and producing team were also revealed as part of the announcement regarding Carpenter’s involvement. Lorene Scafaria, who made the 2019 crime drama Hustlers with Jennifer Lopez, is on board to write and direct the feature, while Marc Platt serves as a producer. Platt helped to bring Wicked to Broadway before moving onto the two-part film adaptation, which is set to conclude with the release of Wicked: For Good later this month. He has also worked on the likes of La La Land, Cruella, and The Trial of the Chicago 7.
Additionally, Leslie Morgenstein and Elysa Koplovitz Dutton will produce the Alice in Wonderland movie musical through Alloy Entertainment – a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Television that has produced numerous projects for the small screen, including young adult franchises like Gossip Girl, The Vampire Diaries, and Pretty Little Liars. Universal’s Senior Vice President of Production Development Ryan Jones and Director of Production Development Jacqueline Garell are both overseeing the project, which could be the studio’s Wicked replacement, while Katie McNicol is shepherding it to the screen for Marc Platt Productions.
‘Alice in Wonderland’ Has Had Numerous Adaptations
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is a quintessential literary children’s classic that tells the story of a young girl named Alice, who falls down a rabbit hole only to find herself in fantastical Wonderland, a place filled with wonderful characters and nonsensical creatures. The story’s enduring popularity has led to numerous adaptations in film, television, and theatre, though the most well-known is undoubtedly Walt Disney’s 1951 animated film. Tim Burton’s 2010 live-action reimagining, starring Mia Wasikowska in the lead role, was also a massive box office success and earned a sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, from James Bobin.
More to come…