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Wicked 2024 Poster

Wicked (also known as Wicked: Part One) is the upcoming first film adaptation of the musical based on the book series that will be released as two parts by Universal Studios. A tentative release date is set for November 27th, 2024.

The second simply titled Wicked: Part Two is expected to come a year later around November 26th, 2025.

Cast[]

Wiki Notice: Many cast announcements have yet to be made and those that have been are subject to possibly change.

Some characters who appeared only in the book and not on stage are now are set to appear in the duology alongside some new ones created just for the two films. Some characters who are from the book and had their role(s) reduced in the musical have an asterisk by their name while new characters who are exclusive to this movie have two.

Confirmed Cast Members[]

Potential Rumoured Cast Members[]

Production History[]

A film adaptation of Wicked had been discussed since 2004, though producers were waiting for a dip in the stage musical's earnings. By 2012, Universal was reported to be producing the film with Stephen Daldry as director and Winnie Holzman who wrote the musical's book to pen the screenplay. Marc Platt who helped to develop the musical will also be part of this project while his company is set to co-produce The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with New Line Cinema.

Universal announced in 2016 that the film would be released in theaters in December 2019, with Daldry attached to direct it with the script to be co-written by the musical's creators Holzman and Schwartz. In May 2017, Schwartz stated that the film would feature "at least two" new songs.  On February 8th, 2019, Universal announced a release date of December 22nd, 2021 but on April 1st, 2020, they announced it might be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic because of the shakeup in the film industry.

However on October 20th, 2020, Daldry left the production due to scheduling conflicts according to Variety. On February 3rd, 2021 it was announced it would now be directed by Jon M. Chu who previously directed Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights.

On June 5th, 2021, Collider did an interview as he talked about the characters: "Yes, of course, we're going to have Oz, and you're going to be in this crazy world, and you're going to revisit this innocent place and you're going to see that it's not as innocent as it had been in the past. But you're also going to see that the relationship between these two women [Elphaba and Glinda] is more real than ever, that we're going to be that close to them. We're going to root for them to try to get into that school or when one crosses the other. You're going to hate the other one at some point. You're going to want them to make up at another point, and you're going to feel when they separate. That's the most important thing. The spectacle? That's the easy part, we can hire a lot of people to do that. It's those little moments... that's what's going to make that."

According to WhatsOnStage, on July 2nd, 2021 Schwartz was able to confirm that filming was set to begin in late 2021 and throughout 2022 in Georgia.

Before the new dates were announced, the IMDb page speculated December 22nd, 2022 while WhatsOnStage guessed 2023.

On April 26, 2022, Chu announced via his ''Oz phone'' that the project will be spilt into two parts in order to fully adapt the story on screen without cutting songs or characters. On Broadway the runtime is nearly three hours so presumably it will be extended with new dialogue and songs to possibly fit an extra hour.

After the announcement of Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in the roles of Glinda and Elphaba respectively, it was told that production would begin in Summer 2022 in the UK.

On October 28, it was announced that Jeff Goldblum is in 'final talks' to join the cast as the Wizard.

On December 9, several castings have been confirmed along with news that filming has begun.

Interviews[]

Wiki Notice: As part of a new feature, we will recap video and/or print interviews that feature current or former members of the cast or production teams as they discuss the making of a particular Oz project.

Cynthia Erivo - Pinocchio Red Carpet, September 2022:

When asked by reporters, she explained that when she heard it was going to be two films instead of just one she felt: "Well alright then, I guess we’ve got our work set ahead of us. It’s full on and kind of exciting, because it means that we have more of the story to tell — more room, more real estate to tell these two stories."

Idina Menzel - People Magazine, May 2022:

The original Elphaba joked about possibly appearing in the movie saying that “If they asked me to do it at the age of 51, I would say, sure — just put a little Vaseline on the lens, throw some green makeup on me, use a little CGI and I'll look gorgeous”. She also said that Grande and Erivo are good friends believing that with them, the film is “in very good hands”.

When asked about advice for them she would say to them it would be to “Just to enjoy the moment, enjoy the process and remember the legacy of the show and how many young people it resonates with and speaks to. It's allowed for so many young people to really embrace their power and what makes them really special in the world, so I would remind them just to keep that in mind every day when they're on set, and to remember why they're doing it and who they're doing it for."

When it was brought up about the film being spilt into two parts she noted will only be beneficial, as it will allow every part of the story to unfold onscreen. In particular she said "The novel was one of my favourite novels, and I had read it before I was ever cast in the show. It's rich in detail. So the more that we can actually discover all that Wicked is, I think, the more beneficial it will be to the story.”

Video[]

Trivia[]

With various trivia notes, they are divided into sections:

General:

  • This is the 2nd Oz movie to be based off a Broadway musical after The Wiz.
  • This is planned to be the very first two-part movie made by Universal Pictures besides direct sequels. It might also be the very first two-part musical film to be made by any company.
  • According to Screenrant, it was reported January 10th, 2011 that ABC (owned in part by Walt Disney Pictures) had plans to "strictly adapt" the novel as an eight hour miniseries that would remove elements of the musical. It was to be produced by Salma Hayek through her company Ventanarosa Productions with Erik Jendresen writing the script as it was expected to air sometime that Fall or Spring 2012. The article notes former ABC President Stephen McPherson declined this production despite the network buying the rights to the books in 2009. A placeholder IMDB listing last updated on June 14th, 2016 states "Development Unknown" through it also listed Jose Tamez as a producer. It is unknown if this is still forthcoming since the television series Once Upon a Time introduced its own Oz based storyline.
  • Though unofficial, in 2013, a Disney animator uploaded images of concept art that could be used for an animated film. Another animator named Heidi Jo Gilbert pitched a storyboard version of Defying Gravity in 2011 uploaded to her vimeo account for the studio to consider.

Cast:

  • In a Twitter post from 2011, Grande said that she wanted to "play Glinda at some point in (her) life". In 2018 she sang “The Wizard and I” for NBC's A Very Wicked Halloween special.
  • At this point according to IMDb, only Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh and Ethan Slater are confirmed to appear in the second film. This either means several characters will not return from the first or the list just hasn't been updated as of December 2022.
  • This will the first feature film for Marissa Bode and Aaron Teoh.
  • Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater started dating each other around the time of filming after they both separated from their spouse.
  • Some roles are being cast by the Telsey Office who planned rehearsals in the UK for June or July 2022. In their casting call for Nessarose, they specifically recommended actresses to apply if they use a wheelchair. This has not been a pre-qualification for consideration in most renditions of the musical. It is uncertain how many roles they are tasked with filling, but they created a special email wickedfilmcasting@gmail.com to handle audition submissions.
  • In 2015 actress Amanda Seyfried reached out to say she was open to playing Glinda while recommending Anna Kendrick to play Elphaba.
  • Humorous Suggestions:
    • It was speculated in November 2021 that James Corden could be cast resulting in enough opposition to get over 109,000 online petition signatures for him to not be involved in this film based on criticisms of previous musical movie performances, especially Cats.
    • Idina Menzel jokingly commented to a post on Instagram with a goat emoji implying that she would like to play a female version of Dr. Dillamond.
    • Actor Calvin Seabrooks did impressions of Billie Porter auditioning for Madame Morrible.

Links[]

Site-logo Films Site-logo
Live-Action adaptations Silent films Fairylogue and Radio-Plays (1908) • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1910) • His Majesty, the Scarecrow of Oz (1914) • The Patchwork Girl of Oz (1914) • The Magic Cloak of Oz (1914) • The Wizard of Oz (1925)
Modern films The Wizard of Oz (1939) • The Wonderful Land of Oz (1969) • 20th Century Oz (1976) • The Wiz (1978) • Return to Oz (1985) • The Dreamer of Oz (1990) • The Wizard of the City of Emeralds (1994) • The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005) • After the Wizard (2011) • Oz the Great and Powerful (2013) • The Wiz Live! (2015)
Inspired films Flying Monkeys (2013) • OzLand (2015)
Guest Appearances Inkheart (2008) • Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021)
Animated adaptations Feature films Journey Back to Oz (1974) • The Wizard of Oz (1982) • The Wizard of Oz (1983) • The Wizard of Oz (1991) • Lion of Oz (2000) • Tom and Jerry & the Wizard of Oz (2011) • Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2014) • Guardians of Oz (2015) • Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz (2016) • Urfin Jus and His Wooden Soldiers (2017) • The Steam Engines of Oz (2018)
Guest Appearances The LEGO Movie (2014) • The Lego Batman Movie (2017)
Upcoming adaptations Wicked: Part One/Wicked: Part Two (2024-5) • Dorothy & Alice (TBA) • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (film) (TBA) • Toto (film) (TBA)
Short films After Oz (2007) • The Land of Oz (short film) (2015) • Dorothy in the Land of Stars (2017) • Unknown, Lost, or non-English Adaptations
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