TWO DECADES after the Broadway debut of Wicked, the musical was greenlit for a film adaptation.
Directed by Jon M. Chu, the two-part movie is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz.
What is the release date for the Wicked movie adaptation?
On November 27, 2024, Wicked is slated to be released in theaters everywhere.
On November 26, 2025, Wicked: Part Two will also be released.
Although the movie was greenlit in May 2017, the project stalled for several years because of development delays.
On April 26, 2022, Jon M. Chu announced the film would be divided into two parts.
The director said on X, formerly known as Twitter: “As we prepared this production over the last year, it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it.
“As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.
“So we decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one Wicked movie but TWO!!!
“With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters.”
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Who is in the Wicked cast?
For both films, the Wicked cast includes:
Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were the first two cast members revealed for the movie.
While discussing the casting and production process, Chu told GamesRadar: “I needed to build a team that understood that what we wanted to do was immerse the audience in this world where I felt like I’d never been in Oz.
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“That was the thing between Ari, Cynthia, and I, and even Jeff [Goldblum], and Michelle [Yeoh], and Johnny [Bailey], we were creating this together.
“That’s the way I like to work. It’s scary to make Wicked because everyone has such high expectations and if we do it, if we go middle of the road, no one will be satisfied, especially us.
“We all had to be bold, and we all had to stick our necks out, and sometimes be scared of what people would think.
“It felt like therapy the whole time because the story is full of moments of change and decisions and right now in our lives, all across the world, everyone’s making significant changes and decisions based on what our next chapter is going to be.”
What is Wicked about?
Wicked takes place before The Wizard of Oz’s storyline.
As the plot unfolds, so does the friendship and shared backstory between Elphaba Thropp and Glinda Upland.
Elphaba and Glinda are also known as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch.
The double feature explores their lives before they assumed the abovementioned titles they would later become famously known for.