Fans of Wicked have launched an online petition pleading with producers not to cast James Corden in the upcoming film adaptation of the hit musical.
British actor Corden has made appearances in several musicals over the past few years including Cinderella, The Prom and Cats and while he has not been cast in Wicked, irked fans are not taking any chances.
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Following the casting news, a new Change.org page has been set up with creator Mikel Miller declaring, "James Corden in no way shape or form should be in or near the production of Wicked the movie. That’s pretty much it."
On Tuesday the petition, aimed at producers Universal Studios, had attracted more than 53,000 signatures and counting.
Signatories cited reasons for adding their names including "we've suffered enough" and "he must be stopped".
Corden, a household name in the US thanks to his The Late Late Show, is yet to publicly respond to the petition.
He suffered a stinging backlash recently after he was filmed cavorting at motorists in a rat costume while filming a segment for his Late Late Show to promote Cinderella.
Despite the opposition for his potential Wicked casting, Corden is an accomplished star of the stage.
In 2012 he won the Tony Award for best actor in a play for One Man, Two Guvnors.
However, the movie adaptation of Cats was so poorly received Andrew Lloyd Webber, who wrote the original stage production’s music, bought a dog while describing the film as "off-the-scale all wrong".Corden’s performance in The Prom was also widely criticised. The star, who is straight, played a gay character in what some critics said was a distasteful portrayal.
The Broadway production of Wicked debuted in 2003 and has since surpassed one billion dollars (£742 million) in revenue – only the third show to do so alongside The Phantom Of The Opera and The Lion King.
