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Wicked Part Two

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Wicked Part Two
Official logo with release date
Directed byJon M. Chu
Screenplay byWinnie Holzman
Based on
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyAlice Brooks
Edited byMyron Kerstein
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • November 26, 2025 (2025-11-26)
Country
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$165 million

Wicked Part Two[1] is an upcoming American musical fantasy film directed by Jon M. Chu and written by Winnie Holzman. The sequel to Wicked (2024), it is the second of a two-part film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman, which in turn was based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire and characters from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. The film stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, with Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, and Peter Dinklage in supporting roles.

Wicked Part Two is set for release by Universal Pictures in the United States on November 26, 2025.

Premise

After challenging the Wizard's totalitarian regime in Oz, Elphaba must grapple with her new identity as the "Wicked Witch of the West." Meanwhile, the Wizard has given Glinda the title "Glinda the Good" and a public status as the nation's defender against Elphaba. At the Emerald City, The Wizard order Dorothy and her friends to bring Elphaba to him so he can choose The Wicked Witch's fate.

Cast

The film stars Cynthia Erivo (left) as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda.

Additionally, Aaron Teoh will appear as Averic, Fiyero's friend; Grecia de la Paz will appear as Gilligan; Colin Michael Carmichael will appear as Professor Nikidik, a professor at Shiz University; and Adam James will appear as Galinda's father, another new character created for this film. The character Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl who is accidentally transported to the Land of Oz by a tornado with her dog Toto and inadvertently killed The Wicked Witch of the West and The Wicked Witch of the East, will also be featured. The Scarecrow (Oz), The Tin Man , and The Cowardly Lion, three Oz inhabitants who are Dorothy's imaginary friends, will also appear.

Production

Development

Further information: Wicked (2024 film) § Development
Director Jon M. Chu (left) and composer Stephen Schwartz

A film adaptation for the Broadway musical Wicked was announced in 2012,[10] with a scheduled release date of December 20, 2019.[11] After numerous delays, the film eventually secured a release date of November 27, 2024.[12] In April 2022, director Jon M. Chu announced that the adaptation would be split in two parts, Wicked: Part One and Wicked Part Two, saying:

As we prepared the production over the last year, it became 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. 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 for these beloved characters.[13]

Pre-production

In June 2022, Stephen Schwartz added, while confirming that a new song will be written for one of the two films:[14]

We found it very difficult to get past 'Defying Gravity' without a break ... That song is written specifically to bring a curtain down, and whatever scene to follow it without a break just seemed hugely anti-climactic ... Even as a very long single movie, it required us cutting or omitting things that we wanted to include and that we think fans of the show and the story will appreciate. What we have discussed is that changes need to be 'additive,' to use (producer) Marc Platt's term. They need to add something to the story or the characters. They can't just be changes to do something different. I feel confident that by the time the movie is made, if we all continue to have the same degree of input, I could have a conversation with anyone who has a question about any of the changes made from the stage show and justify why I think it's better for the movie.

In November 2022, Schwartz revealed that the film will include two new songs "to meet the demands of the storytelling."[15]

Filming

Principal photography began alongside Part One, and had nearly been completed by July 2023 before production was suspended due to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[16] Both films resumed on January 24, 2024 and concluded on January 26.[17] The vocals of the actors during the musical numbers were recorded live on set, with Academy Award-winning production sound mixer Simon Hayes collaborating with Chu on the recordings of the actors' vocals, using a variation of the same recording techniques that were implemented on Les Misérables (2012).[18][19][20][21]

Post-production and visual effects

On February 6, 2024, it was confirmed on Twitter that Industrial Light & Magic and Framestore[22] will provide the film's visual effects with Pablo Helman serving as visual effects supervisor, and that post-production work was in progress, with Chu working remotely with editor Myron Kerstein via communication through the newly-released Apple Vision Pro.[23][24][25]

Music

The soundtrack albums for both this film and Wicked will be released by Republic Records/Verve Label Group, Grande and Erivo's respective record labels. In July 2024, it was revealed that John Powell had composed the incidental underscore for the film, reprising his duties from the previous film.[26] Jeff Atmajian updated William David Brohn's original orchestrations for the songs and enlarged the orchestra from the stage version's original 23 musicians to 80 for the film.[27][28][29]

Release

Wicked Part Two is scheduled to be released theatrically, including engagements in RealD 3D, IMAX and Dolby Cinema, on November 26, 2025 by Universal Pictures, after previously being set for a December 25, 2025 release.[1]

Marketing

Exclusive work-in-progress footage from both this film its predecessor, featuring first listens to Grande and Erivo's respective renditions of "Popular" and "Defying Gravity", was presented at CinemaCon on April 26, 2023, introduced on stage by Universal Pictures chairwoman Donna Langley.[30] The first trailer for the first film, in the form of a 60 second "First Look," premiered during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11, 2024, showing brief clips from Part Two which confirmed that the film would contain new scenes to expand the plot of the musical's second act, including one of the Wizard ordering Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and Cowardly Lion to hunt down Elphaba, as depicted in the original The Wizard of Oz story.[31][32]

References

  1. ^ a b Kroll, Justin (June 20, 2023). "Wicked Part Two From Universal And Jon Chu Moves Up A Month To Thanksgiving 2025". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Shaffer, Ellise; Donnelly, Matt (November 4, 2021). "Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo to Star in 'Wicked' Musical for Universal". Variety. Archived from the original on June 15, 2022. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  3. ^ a b Jackson, Angelique (December 7, 2022). "Wicked Movie Casts Ethan Slater Opposite Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  4. ^ Jackson, Angelique (December 7, 2022). "Wicked Movie Casts Ethan Slater Opposite Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on December 13, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  5. ^ Malkin, Marc (December 8, 2022). "Michelle Yeoh to Star in Wicked Movies as Madame Morrible (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2022.
  6. ^ Laudenbach, Sarah (December 10, 2022). "Jeff Goldblum Confirmed As Wicked's Wizard Of Oz In Exciting Movie Update". Screen Rant. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  7. ^ Malkin, Marc (September 21, 2022). "Jonathan Bailey Joins 'Wicked' Movies as Fiyero (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on February 15, 2023. Retrieved September 21, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Kroll, Justin (December 9, 2022). "Wicked Adaptation At Universal Rounds Out Inclusive All-Star Cast With Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang and Bronwyn James". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on December 17, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  9. ^ McClintock, Pamela (April 10, 2024). "'Wicked' Casts Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond the Goat". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 10, 2024.
  10. ^ WICKED Film to Enter Development 'Soon' Archived 2016-03-01 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved December 13, 2012
  11. ^ "Universal's 'Wicked' Movie Adaptation Gets December 2019 Release". Hollywood Reporter. June 16, 2016. Archived from the original on January 6, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  12. ^ Petski, Densie (March 14, 2023). "Universal Moves Up 'Wicked' Part 1 Release Date". Deadline. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  13. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 26, 2022). "Universal Releasing 'Wicked' Musical In Two Parts". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 26, 2022.
  14. ^ Willman, Chris (June 28, 2022). "'Wicked' Songwriter Stephen Schwartz on Why the Movie Must Be a Two-Parter: Nothing Can Follow 'Defying Gravity'". Variety. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
  15. ^ Major, Michael. "Second WICKED Movie Will Include Two New Songs". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved December 13, 2022.
  16. ^ Thompson, Jaden (July 19, 2023). "Wicked Had 10 Days Left of Filming Before Strike Shut Down Production, Says Stephen Schwartz". Variety. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  17. ^ Anderson, Jenna (January 27, 2024). "Wicked Movie Wraps Filming, Cynthia Erivo Shares Major Set Photo". Comicbook.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  18. ^ Rahbar, Sabba (January 24, 2024). "Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater Hold Hands While Taking Their Love From Emerald City to New York City". E! Online. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  19. ^ Anderson, Jenna (January 27, 2024). "Wicked Movie Wraps Filming, Cynthia Erivo Shares Major Set Photo". Comicbook.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
  20. ^ Tinoco, Armando (January 27, 2024). "'Wicked' Musical Adaptation Wraps Filming: Ariana Grande & Director Jon M. Chu Share Emotional Messages". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  21. ^ "Wicked The Movies: What we know so far". westendtheatre.com. March 15, 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  22. ^ Frei, Vincent (February 12, 2024). "Wicked Part One". The Art of VFX (in French). Retrieved April 19, 2024.
  23. ^ Jon M. Chu [@jonmchu] (February 6, 2024). "Next up: remote VFX review meeting with @ILMVFX … should I show up with my Persona? A full on digital recreation of me (with slight uncanny valley) giving notes on getting rid of uncanny valley on digitial creatures? This might be too much 🤣 #VisionPro #Wicked" (Tweet). Retrieved June 1, 2024 – via Twitter.
  24. ^ Jon M. Chu [@jonmchu] (February 6, 2024). "Day 3 with the @Apple #VisionPro … I got stuck at the house because of the LA floods so I couldn't go into the edit room. So I edited #WickedMovie remotely with my editor #MyronKerstein on @EvercastUS and it worked flawlessly. I need to repeat this out loud. I was in it for HOURS editing on a virtual giant screen (the size of a real movie screen) a major motion picture from the comfort of my house. With no headache. I can't tell you what a revelation this was. This is big stakes cutting edge productivity work that is available to use today! I am still shook. I don't think people fully realize the amount of workflow breakthroughs I think the VisionPro will lead to. This is not an ad. Just me being excited about technology and creativity. Hail to the nerds and artists" (Tweet). Retrieved June 1, 2024 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Frei, Vincent (November 2, 2023). "Killers of the Flower Moon: Pablo Helman – Production VFX Supervisor – ILM". The Art of VFX (in French). Retrieved February 8, 2024.
  26. ^ "John Powell Scoring Jon M. Chu's 'Wicked'". Film Music Reporter. July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  27. ^ "John Powell Scoring Jon M. Chu's 'Wicked'". Film Music Reporter. July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  28. ^ https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/John-Powell-Scoring-WICKED-Movie-With-Stephen-Schwartz-20240708
  29. ^ https://www.theschwartzscene.com/quarterly-newsletter/issue-78-summer-2024-wicked-soundtrack/
  30. ^ "'Wicked' defies gravity with surprise footage reveal at CinemaCon". Entertainment Weekly.
  31. ^ "Super Bowl Movie Trailers: 'Deadpool 3,' 'Wicked' and 'Quiet Place' Prequel Spots Poised to Dominate Big Game". February 5, 2024.
  32. ^ "'Deadpool 3', 'Twisters', 'Quiet Place: Day One', 'Inside Out 2' Among Potential Super Bowl Movie Spots". February 5, 2024.
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