The Wicked film is currently in production, and there are already numerous things it’s getting right in adapting the hit musical. Wicked: Part One will be released in theaters on November 27, 2024, with the second part due to be released the following year. The film adaptation has been in development for almost 15 years, but finally began filming with stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in late 2022. The Wicked film is one of the most-anticipated films of 2024 and while there’s a lot of pressure to get the adaptation right, it’s already delivering on multiple fronts.
The Wicked film will come from a long line of adaptations. Wicked opened on Broadway in 2003, based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel, which in turn was based on L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Wicked tells the story of the friendship between Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, giving a twist to the story many became familiar with through The Wizard of Oz. Wicked is the fourth-longest-running musical in Broadway history and has garnered a large fanbase who should be delighted to know that the Wicked movie is already getting so many things right.
The Importance Of Wicked’s Elphaba & Nessarose Castings
The original Elphaba (Idina Menzel) and Glinda (Kristin Chenoweth) left big shoes to fill for their roles in the Wicked film. On top of finding people who could live up to their performances, it was just as, if not more important to ensure that the roles in the Wicked film were also cast appropriately for the story. A central point of the story revolves around Elphaba being discriminated against for being born with a green skin color. Elphaba’s father even made her mother chew milk flowers while pregnant with Elphaba’s younger sister, Nessarose, so she would be born white. It worked, but it also disabled her.
Despite skin color being a central point of the story and a clear allegory for racism, a Black woman has never starred full-time as Elphaba on Broadway. In casting Cynthia Erivo, the Wicked movie is already on the right track and fixing mistakes made by the stage show. While it might seem obvious for the Wicked film to cast a wheelchair user as Nessarose, newcomer Marissa Bode will be the first wheelchair user to play the role in the history of Wicked, marking another important improvement from the stage production.
The Wicked Movie’s Opening Number Already Looks Great
The Wicked movie is currently filming in Buckinghamshire, England where a set video of Ariana Grande as Glinda performing Wicked’s opening number recently went viral on social media. The roles of Elphaba and Glinda are some of musical theater’s most vocally demanding, with Elphaba having to belt throughout and Glinda needing the range to hit notes both low and extremely high. Grande has proven her vocal talent with her own music, but Glinda is still a challenging role. The opening number, “No One Mourns The Wicked,” sets the tone for the entire show and introduces Glinda’s character, and the footage shows Grande nailing the big soprano notes.
Wicked’s Oz Looks Amazing
Along with the Wicked set video of Grande’s performance, pictures from the Munchkinland set on a farm in Ivinghoe reveal a beautiful, colorful village fit for Oz. This is where the musical opens and ends, with Glinda addressing the citizens of Oz after the supposed death of Elphaba. At CinemaCon, Screen Rant even got some insider information as to how the magical set was created. While set photos of Shiz University, where Glinda and Elphaba meet and become roommates, and the Emerald City, where they meet the Wizard, have yet to be revealed, the Munchkinland set suggests they will be just as stunning.
Every Song From The Wicked Musical Will Be Included
Part of Wicked’s success has come from its score, which includes instant classics like “Popular,” “For Good,” and “Defying Gravity.” In total, Wicked features 21 songs, and all 21 will be included in the Wicked films. When adapting a musical from stage to screen, it’s common to see songs cut to fit the new medium, but the Wicked films will not be doing that, with Wicked’s two-movie split allowing for every song to be performed. “Defying Gravity” is one of the most beloved Act I finales in musical history and will be the ending point for Wicked: Part One to help recreate the stage show’s magic.
Stephen Schwartz Is Writing New Songs For The Wicked Movie
The original 21 songs in Wicked were written by Stephen Schwartz, the composer-lyricist of Pippin, Godspell, Enchanted, The Prince of Egypt, Pocahontas, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. For his work for the stage and screen, Schwartz has received multiple Tony Award nominations and has won Grammys and Academy Awards. For the Wicked films, he has confirmed that he has written three new songs and will be including one cut song from the show. Having Schwartz’s songwriting talent offers high hopes for Wicked’s new additions, which can likely only improve the show given his history with the material.
Winnie Holzman & Stephen Schwartz Are Writing The Wicked Screenplay
Schwartz isn’t the only person involved with the creation of the original Wicked musical to return for the Wicked film. The screenplay is also being written by Winnie Holzman, who wrote the book for the musical, adapting it from Maguire’s novel. Hozlman is also the creator of the 1990s show, My So-Called Life, which earned her an Emmy Award nomination for screenwriting. Keeping the creators of the original musical involved is yet another good sign for the success of the Wicked films.
The Wicked Movie Adapts Both The Book And The Musical
While the Wicked films will be based on the 2003 musical, they will also be taking aspects from the 1995 novel that inspired it. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West is just over 400 pages and outside of characters and setting, the musical is incredibly different from it, just as the Wicked book is different from the 1900 novel and 1939 film. In splitting the film up into two parts, the Wicked films have the opportunity to include more supporting characters than the musical did, particularly Glinda’s friends, Pfannnee and Shenshen, who will be played by Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James respectively.
Director Jon M. Chu Has Musical Adaptation Experience
Director Jon M. Chu’s biggest film to date has been 2018’s Crazy Rich Asians, but he also gained experience directing musical adaptations with the movie version of Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights. Chu is also set to direct a new Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat movie adaptation, further proving his prowess as a movie musical director. Chu shared on social media that he’s been a longtime fan of Wicked, having first seen it when it was being workshopped in San Francisco in 2003 ahead of its Broadway run. Musical adaptations can be hit or miss, but having an experienced director at the helm gives Wicked a leg up.
The Wicked Movie Cast Features Multiple Theatre Actors
It has yet to be announced if any of the original Wicked Broadway cast members will be appearing in the film, but it will feature multiple actors with theater experience. Grande made her Broadway debut back in 2008 in 13, and Erivo won a Tony Award for her star turn in the 2015 revival of The Color Purple. They will be joined by West End actor Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, and Tony nominees Ethan Slater and Keala Settle as Boq and Miss Coddle, respectively. Casting theater actors is another indication that the Wicked movie is not just adapting the stage musical but honoring it as well.
Wicked’s Two-Movie Split Allows For Deeper Characterization
The biggest reason that the Wicked movie is being split into two parts is to avoid cutting anything, but in doing that, it also leaves them room to add what might have been missing in the musical. This will perhaps best be shown in the characterization of the main characters as well as the supporting characters who had much smaller parts or were nonexistent in the original. The characters and stories in Wicked are incredibly interesting and offer a lot more that can be explored because of the two-movie split. Though it might seem like a strange decision, Wicked being two movies can better the source material.