The big screen adaptation of Wicked has finally arrived in cinemas after years of speculation and it’s already shaping up to be a hit. It’s only the first chapter of the story though, with Wicked Part Two already confirmed.
READ MORE: ‘Wicked’ review: hit musical makes gravity-defying leap to the big screen
Wicked is based on the hit stage musical, which itself was based on Gregory Maguire’s book of the same name. It acts as a prequel to 1939’s The Wizard Of Oz film and explores the backstory of how Glinda The Good Witch and The Wicked Witch Of The West came to be.
The film adaptation stars Ariana Grande as Glinda while Broadway legend Cynthia Erivo will star as Elphaba. The first part of Wicked has just hit cinema screens while a sequel has already been confirmed. Here’s everything we know about Wicked Part Two.
Does Wicked Part Two have a release date?
Pop it in your diary
Wicked and Part Two were shot back to back. Filming began back in December 2022 and wrapped January 2024 after a delay due to the writer’s strike. Wicked was released November 22, 2024 while Wicked Part Two is pencilled in to come one year later, on November 21 2025.
Ariana Grande as Glinda in ‘Wicked’. CREDIT: Universal
Who’ll be returning for Wicked Part Two?
Lots of familiar faces
As dark and dystopian as Wicked can be at times, a majority of the characters survive the stage musical and reappear in The Wizard Of Oz. Assuming writers Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz aren’t planning on shaking things up too much, both Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo will feature heavily in Wicked Part Two.
They’ll once again be joined by Ethan Slater’s Boq, Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, while Michelle Yeoh will once again stars as Madame Morrible and Marissa Bode will plays Nessarose.
What will the plot of Wicked Part Two be?
Wicked follows the same beats as the stage musical and ends with Elphaba turning down The Wizard’s offer of a partnership after finding out he oppresses certain corners of the Emerald City to stay in power. Glinda then stays behind to secretly support Elphaba, while the newly crowned “Wicked Witch” flees on a broomstick after singing the showstopping ‘Defying Gravity’.
On stage, the darker second act of Wicked sees Elphaba hunted by The Wizard and his forces and it isn’t exactly happy ever after for, Glinda, Boq, Fiyero and Nessarose either. The end of the story ties into the events of The Wizard Of Oz, where plucky farmgirl Dorothy ends up melting Elphaba with a bucket of water. However the Wicked book has a lot more murky political themes than the musical, so expect some of that to feature in Part Two as well.
Ariana Grande as Glinda in ‘Wicked’. CREDIT: Universal
What have the cast said about Wicked?
When filming wrapped in January, a number of cast members took to social media to reflect on the production of the two films.
“This was a wildly large production with so many brilliant human beings who worked so, so hard in every department. Every single person that worked on these films was not only the absolute best at what they do but made every single day for over a year feel so incredibly safe … kind and thoughtful and inspired every day as if it were always the first,” Ariana Grande wrote on her Instagram story.
“The universe will take things away to make space for the grand gifts it has waiting for us. THIS moment, this film, these people, this cast, this crew, this director, my Glinda, were the Grandest gift I could ever have asked for, and I am eternally grateful for the chance to bring you This Elphie. I hope when you meet her, you’ll love her as much and as fiercely as I do,” said Cynthia Erivo.
Ariana Granda is Glinda and Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in ‘Wicked’. CREDIT: Universal Studios
Speaking to ABC recently, Jeff Goldblum said: “I believe that we won’t be contradicted if we say that the people who love that show will be … they might well be frightened because they don’t want to be disappointed … I think they’ll be thrilled.”
“It just is a beautiful chance to get to know these women and this story on an even deeper level,” Grande added.
Will there be future sequels?
Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard Of Oz but both end around the same time, so there isn’t a whole lot of scope for a direct sequel. However Gregory Maguire’s Wicked: The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West was followed up by a number of sequels. The first is Son Of A Witch which focused on Liir, the rumoured son of Elphaba, while A Lion Among Men caught up with The Cowardly Lion. If Wicked is a success, there’s no reason these stories couldn’t be adapted for the big screen or fuel a gritty HBO mini-series like The Penguin.
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