Inspired by the original “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz”, as well as based on the 1995 book adaptation by Gregory Maguire, “Wicked” is an award-winning, record-breaking and universally beloved musical. The story follows Elphaba through her early life and into college, where she faces prejudice and distrust due to her green skin. College is where she meets and surprisingly befriends Galinda, and the show navigates their unlikely friendship, a world that is not quite what it seems and overcoming limitations. Since its debut, it has grossed over $1 billion in total revenue, making it Broadway’s second highest-grossing musical.
Since its first performance in 2003, the show has had little more than two decades of immense success, so it seems quite natural that such a well-loved musical would receive an on-screen adaptation, following the example of many other shows just like it.
Directed by Jon M. Chu (director of “Crazy Rich Asians”), this film adaptation is set to release on November 27 of this year, with a second part following the next year, on November 26, 2025. Cynthia Erivo stars as Elphaba, along with Ariana Grande as Galinda, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero and Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard.
The cast list seems full of potential, with most, if not all of the actors having some sort of singing background (I mean, Ariana Grande is an incredibly famous pop singer, and Cynthia Erivo starred in the Broadway musical “The Color Purple”… what more could you want?), and every lead having several other major acting projects under their belts. Another source of excitement features Stephen Schwartz (the original composer for the Broadway show) being brought on to write two new songs for the adaptation.
While many aspects of the project seem very positive, there are certainly some concerns about the quality of the production. It is uncertain what the content of the movie will include. Will it closely follow the musical or make changes? Comments from Erivo make it seem like the film could be a mashup of the movie the original musical is based on as well as the beloved Broadway show. Viewers are only able to wait and see how well this is executed, if this is indeed the case. Then, the adaptation is split up into two parts. There is a possibility that a second part could mean a drop in quality or perhaps a worse soundtrack if all the best songs of the musical are featured in the earlier film.
Biggest of all, the creators are dealing with some major (and I mean major) expectations. “Wicked” has been one of the most popular and well-loved shows for two decades, and viewers have come to know and love one specific version of the story. When dealing with such a major project, it will be difficult to implement personal quirks and changes, with backlash being quite likely as viewers cry out against infidelity to the source material or viewers coming into the adaptation with unpersuadable expectations of another poor remake.
In the end, only time will tell how the adaptation turns out. But for now, let any fans of the musical stay hopeful that a favorite of theirs can be successfully turned into a screen version, just as widely adored as the original.
