The Wicked Movie Adaptation: Everything You Need to Know

Universal Pictures is ready to defy gravity at long last with WICKED, the much-anticipated movie adaptation of the iconic Broadway musical. First announced six years ago, the WICKED movie has had a long journey to the silver screen. But it has finally gotten the green light, with production set to start up before the end of the year.

Based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” the story in WICKED follows the relationship between Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Galinda, later renamed Glinda the Good Witch. The musical was popularized during its first run back in 2003, with Idina Menzel as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda. It has since gone on to be staged in off-Broadway productions around the world. The original Broadway run won three Tony Awards, and a Grammy for its original cast album.

Now, after a long wait and much fanfare, the heralded musical will be getting the big-screen treatment. And though it’ll be a little while before WICKED is set to hit theaters, here is everything we know about the production so far.

When Does Wicked Come Out?

The WICKED movie arrives on Christmas 2024.

Though originally set for release at the end of last year, WICKED was ultimately pushed back. As teased by director Jon M. Chu last month, the WICKED movies will be released "on successive Christmas holidays beginning December 2024."

Yes, Wicked Will Be Two Movies

That's "movies," plural, as WICKED is is set be a two-parter. As part of his release date statement, Chu said,

As we prepared the production over the past year, it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of ‘Wicked’ into a single film without doing some real damage to it. As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions felt like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years,”“As we prepared the production over the past year, it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of ‘Wicked’ into a single film without doing some real damage to it. As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions felt like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.

So we'll see two WICKED movies instead of one!

Is There a Wicked Trailer?

Since production is not projected to begin until the end of the year, there is sadly no footage to release as a trailer. But it might be safe to assume that we can, at the very least, expect to see promotional stills or even a teaser by next summer.

The Wicked Cast

Filling the shoes of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth is no easy feat, but the women set for WICKED's main roles are more than up to the task. Elphaba will be played by Cynthia Erivo, who gained recognition from starring on Broadway in the revival of "The Color Purple," and later made the jump to film with BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE, WIDOWS, and HARRIET. (That last movie got her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.)

We'll be able to tell you more about WICKED soon!