Wicked (film series)

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Wicked is an upcoming 2024-2025 fantasy film series based on Winnie Holzman's and Stephen Schwartz's 2003 musical of the same name which in turn is based on the 1995 fantasy novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire. It will be directed by Jon M. Chu and will star Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
The first film in the series is scheduled to be released December 25, 2024 with the last film to be released December 25, 2025.
Plot
Retelling the events of the 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum and the 1939 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film The Wizard of Oz, the film tells the story of how a green-skinned girl named Elphaba became The Wicked Witch of the West and her friendship with a wealthy girl named Galinda who becomes Glinda the Good Witch.
Cast
* Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp; a green skinned girl that becomes The Wicked Witch of the West.
* Ariana Grande as Galinda "Glinda the Good" Upland; a spoiled wealthy girl who becomes Glinda the Good Witch.
Production
A film adaptation of Wicked had been discussed since 2004. In July 2010, it was reported that J. J. Abrams, James Mangold, Ryan Murphy, and Rob Marshall were under consideration to direct a potential film adaptation. By July 2012, Universal Studios was reported to be producing the film, with Stephen Daldry as director and Winnie Holzman, who wrote the musical's book, to pen the screenplay. Universal announced in 2016 that the film would be released in theaters on December 20, 2019, with Daldry still attached to direct, and the script to be co-written by the musical's creators, Holzman and Schwartz. In May 2017, Schwartz stated that the film would feature "at least two" new songs. On August 31, 2018, Universal put the film on hold, due to production scheduling, and gave the film adaptation of Cats, which became a box office bomb, the release date formerly held by the film. On February 8, 2019, Universal announced a new release date of December 22, 2021, for the Wicked film. On April 1, 2020, Universal put the film on hold once again due to Universal shifting release dates amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and gave Sing 2 the 2021 release date. On October 20, 2020, it was announced that Daldry had left the production due to scheduling conflicts. In February 2021, Deadline reported that Jon M. Chu had signed on to direct the film adaptation. In July 2021, Schwartz stated that filming would begin in fall 2021 in Georgia, but filming was later postponed to March 2022 and again to June 2022. In November 2021, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo were cast as Glinda and Elphaba respectively, with production set to begin in summer 2022 in the UK.
In April 2022, it was announced the film would be released in two parts, on Christmas Day in 2024 and 2025. Jon M. Chu explained why:
In June 2022, Stephen Schwartz added, while confirming that a new song will be written for one of the two films:

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