‘Wicked Part Two’ is “eight times more relevant” because of where we are “in society right now”, says director
The director of Wicked has said that the film’s upcoming sequel is “eight times more relevant” because of where we are “in society right now”.
Wicked hit cinemas in the UK and US on Friday (November 22), and is predicted by cinema bosses to be the biggest film of the year.
The film is based on the hit stage musical, which itself was based on Gregory Maguire’s book of the same name. It acts as a prequel to 1939’s The Wizard Of Oz film and explores the backstory of how Glinda The Good Witch, played by Ariana Grande, and The Wicked Witch Of The West, helmed by Cynthia Erivo, came to be.
So far, Wicked follows the same beats as the stage musical and ends at the interval, with Elphaba turning down The Wizard’s offer of a partnership after finding out he oppresses certain corners of the Emerald City to stay in power.
Wicked Part Two is now slated for a cinema release on November 21 2025, and you can check out everything we know about it so far, here.
On stage, the darker second act of Wicked sees Elphaba hunted by The Wizard and his forces. The end of the story ties into the events of The Wizard Of Oz, where plucky farmgirl Dorothy ends up melting Elphaba with a bucket of water. However the Wicked book has a lot more murky political themes than the musical, so it’s expected that some of that will also feature in Part Two.
Now, director Jon M Chu has hinted that the sequel is relevant to the current state of society.
In a new interview with Variety, Chu was asked how the team behind the film plan to keep the Wicked momentum going until next year. “I don’t know,” he said, “But Part Two, I will say because I’ve cut Part Two together, is a doozy.
“[You’re] getting the meat. I did not know the context of where we’d be in society right now. It becomes eight times more relevant than before when you’re talking about truth and consequences of making the right or wrong choices. It’s intense.”
In a four-star review of Wicked, NME wrote: “Wicked flags a little in the middle, but not enough to dampen a dramatic climax in which Elphaba and Glinda travel to Oz to meet the fabled Wonderful Wizard (Jeff Goldblum). He and Yeoh sell their brief musical numbers on twinkly charisma, but Erivo and Grande are both vocally extraordinary.”
“Crucially, they also have crackling chemistry punctuated by Erivo’s bursts of intensity and Grande’s slick comic timing. By the end, you won’t quite be levitating off your seat but you’ll definitely be enchanted enough to stream the soundtrack on the way home. Funny, colourful and full of empathy for outsiders, this film really is the Shiz.”
Wicked hit cinemas the same day as Ridley Scott‘s Gladiator 2, leading to film fans dubbing the box office clash the Glicked effect, in reference to the Barbenheimer phenomenon in the lead-up to the release of Barbie and Oppenheimer last year.
However, some film experts are saying it’s unlikely to have the same impact as movie-goers aren’t booking double bills this time around.
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Laura Molloy
NME
