Wicked (2024 film)
Wicked (also known as Wicked: Part One) is an upcoming musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu from a screenplay by Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz. It is the first of a two-part film adaptation of Holzman and Schwartz's stage musical Wicked, which is based on the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire and characters from the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and its 1939 film adaptation. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh in supporting roles. Set in the Land of Oz, the film revolves around Elphaba, a green-skinned woman, and explores the path that leads her to become the Wicked Witch of the West.

In 2012, Universal Pictures announced the film's development with Marc Platt as a producer. After a long development and multiple delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chu was hired to direct, with Erivo and Grande cast in their respective roles in 2021. Principal photography began in December 2022 in England.

Wicked: Part One is scheduled for release on November 27, 2024, while Wicked: Part Two will be released on November 26, 2025.

Premise
The story of how a green-skinned woman framed by the Wizard of Oz becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.

Cast
 Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp, a young woman born with green skin who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West
 Ariana Grande as Galinda Upland, a popular young woman who later becomes Glinda the Good
 Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero Tigelaar, the Winkie prince who meets Elphaba and Galinda at school
 Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard of Oz
 Ethan Slater as Boq, a Munchkin in love with Galinda 
 Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Shiz University
 Marissa Bode as Nessarose Thropp, Elphaba's wheelchair-using younger sister in love with Boq and later earning the title of "The Wicked of the East".
 Bowen Yang as Pfannee, one of Galinda's college friends
 Bronwyn James as ShenShen, one of Galinda's college friends
 Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, a new character created for this film
 Aaron Teoh as Avaric, Fiyero's friend
 Colin Michael Carmichael as Professor Nikidik, a professor at Shiz University
 Adam James as Glinda's father, another new character created for this film

Production

Development

In 2003, the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West was adapted as the Broadway musical Wicked. The musical was produced by Universal Pictures' stage division and directed by Joe Mantello, with musical staging by Wayne Cilento. The Broadway production has inspired long-run productions in Chicago, London, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, as well as Germany and Japan. It was nominated for ten Tony Awards, winning three, and is the 4th longest-running Broadway show in history, with over 7,500 performances. The original Broadway production starred Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda.

In a 2009 interview, Maguire stated that he had sold the rights to ABC to make an independent non-musical TV adaptation of Wicked. It would not be based on Winnie Holzman's script. On January 9, 2011, it was reported by Entertainment Weekly that ABC would be teaming up with Salma Hayek and her production company to create a TV miniseries of Wicked based solely on Maguire's novel. No further information, such as casting, had been revealed yet.

Original Broadway cast members Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba were mentioned as possible film leads. Lea Michele and Amy Adams were also rumored to be potential leads. Potential writers included Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz, while J. J. Abrams, Rob Marshall,  James Mangold, and Ryan Murphy were mentioned as possible candidates for director. In December 2012, following the success of Les Misérables, Marc Platt, also a producer of the stage version, announced the film was going ahead, later confirming the film was aiming for a 2016 release. After a long development, Universal announced in 2017 that the film would be released in theaters on December 20, 2019, with Stephen Daldry directing.

Pre-production
In May 2017, Schwartz stated that the film would feature "at least two" new songs. On August 31, 2018, Universal put the film on hold, due to production scheduling, and gave the film adaptation of Cats the release date formerly held by the film. On February 8, 2019, Universal announced a new release date of December 22, 2021, for the Wicked film. On April 1, 2020, Universal put the film on hold once again due to Universal shifting release dates amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and gave Sing 2 the 2021 release date. On October 20, 2020, it was announced that Daldry had left the production due to scheduling conflicts. On February 2, 2021, it was announced that Jon M. Chu will take over as director. In August, Alice Brooks was confirmed as the film's cinematographer, after working with Chu before on the film version of In the Heights.

In November, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were cast as Glinda and Elphaba. In June 2022, Chu confirmed the hiring of Nathan Crowley as production designer. On September 21, 2022, it was reported that Jonathan Bailey had joined the cast as Fiyero. In October 2022, it was announced that Jeff Goldblum was in final talks to star as The Wizard. Goldblum remained in talks by December, when Ethan Slater, Michelle Yeoh, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, Aaron Teoh and Colin Michael Carmichael were added to the cast.

About preparing for the role of Elphaba, Erivo said to Variety, while expressing her desire to see the stage version on Broadway again before filming: "I'm relearning everything ... I want to go and see it again. ... When I get to New York at some point I'll pop in and see the show again, that'll be my fifth time." She also said at that time that discussions were underway on what the film will look like, particularly its production design and visual style, and confirmed the hiring of Paul Tazewell as costume designer. Her request to him for Elphaba's costume when she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West involved "a Jean Paul Gaultier collection with a 'new world, kind of gilded age' feeling".

Filming
Principal photography was set to commence in June 2022 at the Sky Studios Elstree facilities in the United Kingdom. In July 2021, Stephen Schwartz indicated there were plans to film in Atlanta in 2021. On April 26, 2022, Chu announced the adaptation will be filmed in two parts, saying:
In June 2022, Stephen Schwartz confirmed that a new song would be written for one of the two films:

On July 18, it was revealed that with the filming process settled at the newly-built Sky Studios in Elstree, England, rehearsals would begin in August with principal photography beginning in November. On December 9, 2022, Chu confirmed on Twitter that filming had begun.

On September 23, Planning Statement, in support of a planning application submitted on behalf of Western Sky Limited, indicated that outdoor filming would occur at a site being developed at Ivinghoe Turf in Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire, UK. The original planned shooting dates were between April 6, 2023 and July 25, 2023, before filming was suspended by July 14, due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, with pick up shots planned for 2024.

Release
Wicked: Part One is scheduled to be released theatrically on November 27, 2024, by Universal Pictures. It was originally scheduled to be released theatrically on December 25, 2024, but on March 14, 2023, it was announced that it would be moved up to its current November release date to avoid competition with Avatar 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the former of which was later delayed to 2025 after Thunderbolts took its date.

Sequel
Originally announced as one film, Wicked was split into two films in April 2022. The sequel, Wicked: Part Two, is scheduled to be released on November 26, 2025, after previously being set for a December 25, 2025 release.

References

External links
 

2024 fantasy films
American fantasy films
American musical fantasy films
American musical films
British fantasy films
British musical fantasy films
British musical films
Upcoming English-language films
Film productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Films about animals
Films about friendship
Films about lions
Films about magic and magicians
Films about sisters
Films about tornadoes
Films about witchcraft
Films affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike
Films based on adaptations
Films based on American novels
Films based on fantasy novels
Films based on multiple works of a series
Films based on multiple works
Films based on musicals
Films based on The Wizard of Oz
Films directed by Jon M. Chu
Films postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Films produced by Marc E. Platt
Films shot in Buckinghamshire
Films shot in Hertfordshire
Films shot in the United Kingdom
Films with live action and animation
Musical fantasy films
Musicals by Stephen Schwartz
Universal Pictures films
The Wicked Years
The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)