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We're Not in Kansas, Anymore! Wicked Director Promises "Totally New" Depiction of Oz
"You'll see the 9 million tulips that we really planted."
Think you know the Land of Oz like the back of your hand? Think again, folks! Director Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights) wants audiences to throw out all their preconceived notions about Munchkinland, the Emerald City, and the Yellow Brick Road ahead of Wicked's big screen debut.
Broken up into two parts, the long-awaited adaptation of the hit Broadway musical provides an alternate backstory for the notorious Wicked Witch of the West, who began life as a green-skinned pariah named Elphaba. Played by Cynthia Erivo (The Outsider), the talented spell-caster attends the prestigious Shiz University, where she reluctantly befriends popular girl Glinda (Grammy-winning artist Ariana Grande). Upon graduating, the young women travel to the Emerald City to meet the Wizard (Jeff Goldbum), who isn't as wonderful as he's made out to be. This crushing disillusionment ultimately drives a wedge between Elphaba and Glinda, whose destinies diverge along different paths.
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Such a nuanced and emotionally-layered take on the classic L. Frank Baum stories (tales usually associate with 1939's The Wizard of Oz) required a fresh depiction of Oz that felt both real and lived-in.
How the Oz in Wicked will differ from previous Wizard of Oz adaptations
"In those first 60 seconds, you're going to experience Oz in a totally new, more raw way," Chu teased during an interview with Empire for the magazine's latest issue. "You'll see the 9 million tulips that we really planted."
As fans of the musical know, the story kicks off with the people of Oz celebrating Dorothy's liquid victory over the Wicked Witch. "The stage show opens almost dystopian, but I always thought that it's a celebration that she's dead, so this should be a happy occasion," Chu continued. "It begins a little more joyous than the show, but then quickly takes a turn and gets darker."
When does the Wicked movie open in theaters?
Wicked will ride a broomstick into theaters everywhere Friday, November 22. Wicked Part Two, on the other hand, is currently scheduled for a wide bow on November 26, 2025.
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The studio's decision to break up the adaptation into a pair of feature films was first announced back in the spring of 2022.
"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," Chu wrote in a statement at the time. "As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years. So we decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one Wicked movie, but TWO!!!! With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys of these beloved characters."
