Wicked has been a cultural phenomenon for over two decades, since its Broadway debut in 2003, in no small parts thanks to the incisive book by Winnie Holzman and catchy songs by Stephen Schwartz. The duo reunited to adapt their work for the big screen but found that the wonderful world of Oz was far too big to contain in just one film. Alongside director Jon M. Chu (who previously proved his musical cred with In The Heights), they developed a two-movie plan, with Wicked premiering on November 22 and Wicked: Part II following in 2025.
Part 1 of Wicked introduces Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo), who will go on to become the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Galinda Upland (Ariana Grande), who is best known as Glinda the Good. The two girls are students at Shiz University, where Elphaba is at first reviled for her unnaturally green skin but soon wows Madame Morrible with her preternatural magic abilities. Wicked explores Elphaba’s family history and Glinda’s slow realization of the goodness inside her roommate, juxtaposing their personal stories with the political turmoil surrounding the talking animals in Oz.
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Save for the tiniest of things, Wicked is a worthy screen adaptation of the musical, guaranteed to make viewers feel like they could defy gravity too.
ScreenRant interviewed Holzman and Schwartz about how they expanded the world of their musical in Wicked, discussing how the two movies could have reverted to one had their additions not worked as beautifully as they did. The duo also praised Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s dedication to their roles, and admired Jon M. Chu’s genius choice to connect Shiz through waterways.
Wicked Writers Explain How Their Broadway Musical Became Two Movies
“Nobody wanted to cut any songs — in fact, we wanted to add songs.”
Screen Rant: I was very scared about Wicked being split up into two movies, but having watched it now, I think that was beautifully done. The final moment ends on an appropriate high note. Winnie, can you talk about the decision-making process of adding certain elements?
Winnie Holzman: Yes, it was very carefully done. We really took our time in a great way. We didn’t go, “Let’s just arbitrarily do this to pat it out.” We were very, very judicious, and we would have long conversations — Steven and I together with Jon Chu, all of us with Marc Platt as well — just really talking out and weighing the two options.
In the end, as Stephen has said, we just had too much story for one movie. We wanted the fun, and the whole artistic fulfillment of being able to make these movies was to be able to explore our story and our characters with a little bit more depth; to take a little bit more time. As we’re doing that, it’s adding up. And nobody wanted to cut any songs — in fact, we wanted to add songs.
Finally, Jon had such confidence in the idea of doing two, and he’s a really persuasive guy. We could just feel his inner [knowledge]. And Marc had this moment with both of us where he said, “Look, if it turns out that it’s not really working as two, that one of them doesn’t seem like have enough integrity to be its own movie, we’ll put them together.” And that was so reassuring to us.
Stephen Schwartz: We could always wind up going back to the idea of one movie, which is where we began, and just putting in cuts and compressing things in order to not be a one six-hour movie. But it made it less scary of a choice to know that if it didn’t work, we could always retreat.
Wicked Composer Says Ariana Grande Knows Glinda Inside & Out
“It was important to Ariana especially that she be Glinda and not seem to be Ariana now playing at being Glinda.”
Screen Rant: Stephen, a large part of what makes Glinda such a unique, idiosyncratic, iconic character is Kristin Chenoweth’s original performance. Did you get to work with Ariana on carving her own Glinda while also paying homage to what we know her to be on stage?
Stephen Schwartz: I produced the songs, so we were in the studio together working on their performances. Ariana and Cynthia particularly are such astonishing singers that they wound up doing a lot of their singing live because they can.
But in terms of working out the performance, it was just as you would with any performer in preparing it. Both Cynthia and Ariana came with very clear ideas about who the characters were and how they were going to embody those characters. Ariana saw the show when she was 10, I think, and she and Kristin are close friends, so she’s been thinking about this a long time.
In fact, though, what was interesting was that it was important to Ariana especially that she be Glinda and not seem to be Ariana now playing at being Glinda. A lot of decisions were made to honor that, and that came from her own desire.
Wicked Director’s Vision For Shiz Was Beyond The Comprehension Of Even Its Screenwriters
“There was a part of us that was picturing Oz the way it was in [The Wizard of Oz].”
Screen Rant: Did you get to have any conversations with Jon Chu about specifically the design of Shiz?
Winnie Holzman: What’s interesting is I can remember the first time he spoke about water. Do you remember that?
Stephen Schwartz: Yeah, we were like, “Water? What? There’s not water in Oz. What are you talking about?” We were so startled. “I think they should come in boats.”
Winnie Holzman: I think this still happens, but I don’t know for sure because I am the age I am. But when I was growing up and when Stephen was growing up, it was a very big event to watch The Wizard of Oz on television every year. That movie is so precious to our childhoods and such, and it meant so much to us that when we were forming the musical, we held it in such high regard.
We knew that we would nod to it and sometimes have gentle fun with it, but we could never deny its reality. We could never pretend that something that happened in the movie didn’t happen. We took great pains because of our genuine reverence for the movie, even though we were very open-minded. We were thinking a lot about, “It could be this, it could be that,” but there was a part of us that was picturing Oz the way it was in the movie.
Stephen Schwartz: “What do you mean she’s on a cliff?”
Winnie Holzman: Yeah, what cliff? [Laughs]
Some things you can explain and some things you just [follow]. I think an artist like Jon Chu just knows in his own gut that it’s what he wants to do, and it’s going to work. As much as he would try to explain it, until I really saw it, I don’t think I understood the power of it. I’ll just be a little intellectual sounding for a second, but water is the symbol of the unconscious, and it’s the idea of water brings you to another part of your consciousness. It’s the place where fantasy could lie.
Maybe I’m going overboard, but I think that some part of him was evoking a dream-like state. Anyway, that’s what I think, and I think it works. What I’m trying to say in my way is that I think it works just beautifully, and you could have locked me in a room for a million years, but I never would’ve come up with it.
More About Wicked Part 1 (2024)
Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Emmy, Grammy and Tony winning powerhouse Cynthia Erivo (Harriet, Broadway’s The Color Purple) as Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart.
The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Glinda’s unflinching desire for popularity sees her seduced by power, while Elphaba’s determination to remain true to herself, and to those around her, will have unexpected and shocking consequences on her future. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Check out our other Wicked interviews here:
Wicked
arrives in theaters on November 22.
Source: Screen Rant Plus
Wicked adapts the Broadway musical into a two-part film, following the unlikely friendship between Elphaba, born with green skin, and Glinda, a popular aristocrat, in the Land of Oz. As they navigate their contrasting paths, they evolve into Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
- Director
- Jon M. Chu
- Release Date
- November 22, 2024
- Studio(s)
- Marc Platt Productions
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
- Writers
- Gregory Maguire , Winnie Holzman , Dana Fox , L. Frank Baum
- Cast
- Cynthia Erivo , Ariana Grande , Michelle Yeoh , Jeff Goldblum , Jonathan Bailey , Ethan Slater , Marissa Bode , Bowen Yang , Bronwyn James , Keala Settle , Peter Dinklage , Aaron Teoh , Grecia De la Paz , Colin Michael Carmichael , Adam James , Andy Nyman , Courtney Mae-Briggs , Sharon D. Clarke , Jenna Boyd
- Character(s)
- Elphaba Thropp , Glinda Upland , Madame Morrible , The Wizard , Fiyero Tigelaar , Boq , Nessarose Thropp , Pfannee , ShenShen , Miss Coddle , Doctor Dillamond (voice) , Avaric Tenmeadows , Gilligan , Professor Nikidik , Glinda’s Father , Governor Frexspar Thropp , Melena Thropp , The Midwife
- Runtime
- 160 Minutes
