It's official—the Wicked release date is right around the corner. As its debut on the 2024 movie release schedule draws closer, the film’s stars, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, are bringing Wicked fans a major Broadway throwback. The two superstars recreated the original bill poster from one of the most beloved modern musicals in a nostalgic move, and needless to say, fans are freaking out.
Cynthia Erivo shared an Instagram post with an image showing Erivo and Grande fully in character as Elphaba and Glinda. The vibrant recreation is a perfect nod to the iconic image, channeling the original Wicked poster that every theater fan will immediately recognize.
Fans immediately flooded the comments, expressing excitement and emotions over the Wicked cast member’s homage to the iconic Broadway artwork. The response was nothing short of overwhelming, with many sharing how this image alone has reignited their anticipation for the upcoming film. One fan account commented:
The iconic poster has been re-created!!!!!! 💚🩷
The fan account @ariananews was clearly excited to see two of the biggest stars take on these roles. They added:
NO WAY, Y'ALL RECREATED IT 😭😭😭 BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!!!! 💚💗
Wicked fans have always shown intense love for the musical, and the reactions prove it. User @eternalglinda summed up the excitement, saying:
this is so iconic…. im gagged
Actor @jelanialladin echoed the collective anticipation. He commented:
What we’ve been waiting for. Iconic on SIGHT.
Instagram user @figueirass took it a step further, unable to contain their excitement. According to them:
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY ICONIC IM SCREAMING 💚🩷🫧
Universal dropped the stunning new poster as a promotion, and fresh details about the movie’s soundtrack have just been revealed. In case you missed it, Wicked is being split into two films. The first installment will hit theaters next month, putting it in direct competition with Gladiator II, while part 2 won't hit theaters until the latter half of the 2025 release schedule. We now also have the tracklist for Part 1—fueling even more hype on top of that already iconic poster drop!
Here’s some news that should put fans at ease: there are no new songs in Wicked: Part 1, and none of the beloved Broadway tracks have been cut. Even better, the songs follow the same order as the stage production, keeping things faithful to the original.
For those speculating where Part 1 might leave off–especially after the first trailer showed some iconic scenes from the second half of the musical–the tracklist hints at the perfect ending. Elphaba’s iconic "Defying Gravity" will close out the first film, just as it does at the end of Act 1 in the Broadway version.
Director Jon M. Chu always planned to split the nearly three-hour Broadway musical into two films, but not everyone’s been sold on the idea. Fans have expressed concerns about whether stretching Wicked across two movies is the right move. While fitting the entire musical into one film is tough, other adaptations successfully managed it. However, the care and detail put into the film’s marketing—like the incredible new poster—show that the team clearly loves the material. That attention to detail should help ease some fans’ worries. It definitely does for me.
The first part of Wicked arrives in theaters on November 22, and while I’ve been excited about the film, this new poster has me even more eager to return to the land of Oz.
