About Wicked Part 1
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Screenplay by: Winnie Holzman, Stephen Schwartz
Based on: Wicked by Stephen Schwartz, Winnie Holzman
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire,
Characters from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Produced by: Marc Platt, David Stone
Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum
Cinematography: Alice Brooks
Music by: Stephen Schwartz
Production company: Marc Platt Productions
Distributed by: Universal Pictures
Release date: November 27, 2024 (United States)
Countries: United States, United Kingdom
Language: English
“Wicked” is a new movie that’s split into two parts. It’s a magical story directed by Jon M. Chu. The movie is based on a stage musical called “Wicked.” This musical is based on a book called “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.” The characters come from the story “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”
The movie follows a green-skinned woman named Elphaba. It shows how she becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are the main actors. Other actors like Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Jeff Goldblum, and Michelle Yeoh are also part of the movie.
The making of this film started a while ago, but it took some time because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They began filming in England in 2022 but had to stop due to a strike in 2023. The first part will come out on November 27, 2024, and the second part will be released on November 26, 2025.
Premise
It’s about a woman with green skin who gets blamed by the Wizard of Oz and becomes the Witch of the West.
Cast
- Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp, a young woman born with green skin who later becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Ariana Grande as Galinda Upland, a popular young woman who later becomes Glinda the Good.
- Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero Tigelaar, the Winkie prince who meets Elphaba and Galinda at school.
- Jeff Goldblum as the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
- Ethan Slater as Boq, a Munchkin in love with Galinda.
- Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, the headmistress of Shiz University.
- Marissa Bode as Nessarose Thropp, Elphaba’s wheelchair-using younger sister in love with Boq, later becoming the Wicked Witch of the East.
- Bowen Yang as Pfannee, one of Galinda’s college friends.
- Bronwyn James as ShenShen, another of Galinda’s college friends.
- Keala Settle as Miss Coddle, a new character created for this film.
- Aaron Teoh as Averic, Fiyero’s friend.
- Colin Michael Carmichael as Professor Nikidik, a professor at Shiz University.
- As Galinda’s father, Adam James is another new character created for this film.
Production
Development
A book called ‘Wicked’ became a famous Broadway musical in 2003. It tells the story of the Wicked Witch from ‘The Wizard of Oz.’ The musical has been successful and performed in many cities around the world. It won some big awards, too!
After a while, people talked about turning the story into a TV show or a movie. Some famous actors and directors, like Salma Hayek and J.J. Abrams, were mentioned. They planned to make a movie and said it would come out in 2019 directed by Stephen Daldry.
Release
The movie Wicked: Part One was supposed to appear in theaters on December 25, 2024, but they changed the date. It will be out on November 27, 2024, so it doesn’t have to compete with other big movies like Avatar 3 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Avatar 3 got delayed to 2025, and other movies took its date, so Wicked got an earlier release to avoid all the competition.
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