For decades now, movie musicals have been a successful film sub-genre capable of box office and even Best Picture-winning success. While moviegoers were recently treated to the Mean Girls film, all eyes are on what Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu will bring to theaters with his pair of Wicked films. After not-so-patiently waiting, the trailer for the first Wicked movie is here, revealing Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande's characters, as well as some gorgeous visuals.
What we know about Wicked is that Chu seemingly shot an accurate adaptation of the stage musical, with two movies allowing the story to be told without making too many cuts. Wicked's cast list is led by Erivo and Grande as Elphaba and Glinda respectively, and they're joined by more killer talent. And as you can see in the trailer above, they look killer as the movie's dual protagonists, as does the and of Oz in general. Someone cue that iconic overture!
Much like the Tony Award-winning stage musical, Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz, revealing the friendship shared between Elphaba aka the Wicked Witch of the West and Galinda/Glinda the Good. We follow this pair of magical characters as roommates and rivals at Shiz University (lol), and see as they age and eventually become the best of friends. That is... until something bad starts happening in Oz and they're torn apart.
Wicked has been running on Broadway since 2003, and continues to be one of the most beloved and best-selling shows on the Great White Way. And as such, there should be a captive audience when the first movie hits theaters later this year in November. Adding to the fun, we've got a musical Barbenheimer on our hands, as it'll opening the same day as Moana 2.
Grande and Erivo are both accomplished vocalists, and fans can't wait to hear them belt out songs like "Popular", "The Wizard and I" and (of course) "Defying Gravity." Of course, they're joined by plenty of other killer talents including Bridgerton's Jonathan Bailey (who shot some scenes by himself in the strikes), the incomparable Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, and Bowen Yang. Broadway's Ethan Slater also plays Boq, and he and Grande have made countless headlines thanks to their romantic relationship. One can only assume this will help increase anticipation for the pair of Wicked movies. After all, they say any press is good press.
While it's commonplace for movie musicals like Jon M. Chu's In The Heights to cut songs in order to keep the runtime down, Wicked being two movies should presumably allow for all of Stephen Schwartz' beloved music to be included. The movies' track lists haven't been revealed yet, but hopefully more information is coming sooner rather than later.
Wicked: Part One is currently set to hit theaters on November 27, with Part Two following suit November 26, 2025. Be sure to check the 2024 movie release dates to see what other films you'd like to catch this year.
