Everything To Know About The Wicked Movie(s)

If you’ve been awaiting Jon M. Chu’s Wicked movie musical adaptation since it was announced in November 2021, you’re not alone — but you will need to wait longer for the full start-to-finish experience. Last spring, Chu (who recently helmed In the Heights) announced that the musical will now be a two-part Wicked adaptation, with each installment to be released one year apart.

The film stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. They’ve pledged, in addition to Chu, “to create nothing less than an experience that honors its foundation for all the fans who’ve waited for this movie,” per the director’s statement. While it will be hard waiting for the full experience, there’s some good news: the first entry is coming sooner than planned. Below, see the details on that — and everything else you should know about the two-part Wicked movie adaptation.

Wicked Movies Split Into 2, Explained

So, why did the Wicked movie turn into the Wicked movies? As Chu explained in his tweet:

Here’s what happened: as we prepared this production over the last 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 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.

Wicked Movies Release Dates

Though the Wicked split means you’ll have to wait even longer to hear beloved Act 2 songs like “For Good,” we do at least know when to expect each film. In his post, Chu wrote that the Wicked movies will debut “on successive Christmas holidays beginning December 2024.” Wicked Part 2 would, then, premiere in December 2025.

However, there’s been a twist. On March 14, it was announced that Part 1 would actually debut on Nov. 27, 2024. “OMGGGGG,” commented Kim Kardashian on Ariana Grande’s post about the news. “Thank U, Next” star Jennifer Coolidge was equally elated. “Can’t wait for this !!,” she wrote. “We got a date !!”

Wicked Movies Cast

So far, the Wicked cast includes Erivo and Grande — who both shared photos of themselves receiving the news back in 2021.

They have the blessing from a pretty important pair, too: the original Glinda and Elphaba, Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, respectively. “I’m not sure if I’ve ever been this proud,” Chenoweth tweeted to Grande in November. “From the very first day I met you, you were destined for this role.” Menzel wrote that she has “so much love” for the new Wicked women on Instagram. “May it change your lives for the better forever and ever as it has for us.”

Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldbum, Jonathan Bailey, and Ethan Slater will also star, per Deadline.

Wicked Movies Plot

Based on the Broadway musical of the same name, which was based on Gregory Maguire’s novel of the same name, Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz. It revolves around the friendship between Elphaba and Glinda, and explores how each woman came to be known as the Wicked Witch and the Good Witch. As promised in Chu’s statement, the Wicked films will “[bring] even more depth and surprise to the journeys of these beloved characters.”

This post will be updated with the trailers and additional plot details as more information on the Wicked movies becomes available.