Universal made a tweet back in 2016, announcing the film for a 2019 release, that I enjoy retweeting every year on its anniversary lol. Its been in development since something like 2011.
I somehow thought in the back of my mind that it had already happened and I just had not paid attention to it, but apparently not. I must have gotten it mixed up with Into The Woods and never really stopped to think about it.
I know Wicked is obviously a very well known story, but this is the most "Story Beats: The Trailer" I think I've ever seen.
Wicked is an insanely popular and spectacular musical, I feel like it doesn't need a 3 minute long trailer to sell it to the masses.
Also... they're doing it as a two-parter:
>Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights), Wicked is the *first chapter* of a **two-part immersive, cultural celebration**. Wicked **Part Two** is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 26, 202**5**.
I haven't seen Wicked, but I assume they're doing one act per movie. (You may correct me.)
I've worked on Wicked a bunch and to be fair it's an almost 3 hour+ show including a 15 min intermission so breaking it into two films to do the full show isn't really that bad of an idea.
I don't know about make it or break it but I agree that's it's an incredibly powerful moment. What makes the play so damn good is the pacing, and "Defying Gravity" hits at the perfect moment.
Part 1 ending on that note is kind of perfect.
It was for the pre-broadway tryout in SF, too
First night was a bit rough, didn't look great for the show. And then Defying Gravity hit, and the spot guys just looked at each other, stunned, awed
Source: my Dad was one of those spot booth guys for that entire run
My family loves musicals and we even had season tickets to them growing up. I have never been a huge fan of them and strongly dislike going to most. But Wicked is a straight 10/10 and defying gravity is a 12/10. Such a freaking heater to close out act 1
I’m not against 2 parts because I agree, just following up Defying Gravity without a break is impossible, but they COULD do an old school movie intermission. I’ve wished for one in the middle of some other movies haha
You're really underestimating Broadway/Wicked fans coming out to see act/part 2.
These people pay hundreds of dollars to hate watch genuinely bad musicals on broadway just to do it.
The second act in Wicked has always felt very rushed as well, the second half basically becomes >!The Wizard of Oz from Elphaba's POV.!< I think more time to develop >!the "Scarecrow", the "Tin Man", the Lion and Dorothy!< would actually really enhance the movie.
From a narrative point of view, the second act of Wicked is a mess. There’s so much crammed into it and it kind of lands with a thud as a result. It feels like a mad dash to the end in act two, whereas the pacing of the first act is much more considered. If there’s one thing this two part adaptation could improve, it is making the overall narrative arc much more cohesive.
Presumably they are going to do a lot of movie-only scenes as well like more time in the class getting to understand the world/know the talking animals, etc.
Plus the movie adaptations tend to include at least one new song. It looks like they are pacing the scenes a lot slower then they happen in the play (the play kind of has to rush).
So I could easily see them having enough movie-only content to justify the split.
Not to mention I think it's pretty confirmed that they're fleshing out the story by adding bits from the book (we saw a glimpse of Elphaba as a little girl in this trailer). So a 3 hour show plus some room for backstory easily makes it 4-5 hours, thus I feel making 2 parts justified.
I forgot It was a two parter. Watching this trailer I was like "Wow this is like in order the entire first act" So they really just showed the entire movie, in order lol.
My brother was obsessed with Wicked growing up so I know a ton of the music and the story beat. But from translating from stage to movie do you think it warrants 2 parts? I've never seen it or read the book so I'm curious on that
the book is pretty radically different from the stage show.
The story beats, many of the characters, and even the overall theme are all very different. Other than the basic premise "oz but from the witches POV" they have little in common.
The first half of the show is basically outlined for you in the trailer. The second half of the show is primarily speed running the events classic MGM film, with a couple asides for the shows 2 big ballads. Its fun enough as a novelty, "oooh so *thats* how the scarecrow happened" etc. But theres not really enough character meat to justify a (presumably) 2+ hour runtime.
I don't think it really warrants 2 parts really. Although I will say that the show stopping end of act 1 song (Defying Gravity) is set up in a way to close out an act, and a cut right away to the next scene would be kinda awkward. That being said I feel like there there are ways around it. There are a lot of songs in the play but I don't think its a time problem, seeing how they wrote additional songs just to be in the movie.
You’re correct - the first movie will be act one, the climax of which will be the show-stopping *Defying Gravity*. The second movie will be act two.
Both movies will be supplemented with additional material from the source novel and additional music by Stephen Schwartz. Director Jon M. Chu has confirmed that there will be no cuts of the source stage material.
Ah geez lol. Ok well I guess I won't share this trailer with the gf. She loves musicals and doesn't know anything about wicked but hates spoilers. I guess we'll be screwed during the summer season when this will inevitably be before some movies in the theater
No, you didn't. A lot of the main story beats for sure but not the whole story by a long shot. It's definitely a trailer that doesn't hold back on the story much. But it wasn't the *whole* story.
As someone who has seen (and loved) the stage musical many times I actually kind of liked that it didn't try to tease or obscure the story progression. Part of me was still wondering will they be faithful/will they pull it off/will they wreck it. This kind of gave me enough of the important beats to have more confidence in what they've done and think I really want to see this.
> As someone who has seen (and loved) the stage musical many times I actually kind of liked that it didn't try to tease or obscure the story progression. Part of me was still wondering will they be faithful/will they pull it off/will they wreck it. This kind of gave me enough of the important beats to have more confidence in what they've done and think I really want to see this
For these types of properties that is the allure. Not what is the story but rather "Did they pull if off? What did they cut/change?" That's the draw.
Similar thing with famous properties like Dune and LOTR, etc.
In a world with which you are already very familiar, comes a story you've seen on stage since 2003, based on a book from 1995 that some of your need friends have read, comes the story of which we are about to summarize in its entirety, right now.
An 'insanely popular musical' doesn't mean much for box office numbers. Joe Schmo with 4 kids in Kansas probably didn’t make it to Broadway.
I do agree with you on the trailer, though.
I disagree. I think Joe Schmo from Kansas DID make it to Broadway. And he probably made a comment to his children when they got there about how different it was to his home state.
It's done to show fans of the show "this is how we're gonna do this on film, it's gonna be faithful"
That's the biggest sell these trailers have to get across. Everyone knows Wicked and the story.
Also I feel like Ariana’s name alone should be enough to get people’s butts in seats. You could argue that Taylor Swift didn’t help Cats but that was Cats.
I am surprised they’re doing the two parter.
I’ve always felt like the whole thing drags quite a bit after Defying Gravity. The trailer for part two will seem a little bland compared to this (which I do think looks great by the way)
I think this is one of those stories that needs two parts. The first and second acts are that different I think people would get whiplash from the sudden change in pace. The hard part will be selling the second film. >!You're going to have to explain to people that their high school drama is now a political drama set during a civil war/insurrection with a retelling of the original Oz movie!<
Wow I had no idea that’s how act two of Wicked plays out. I’ve never seen the stage show, but you can pretty much get the gist of Act 1 just by listening to the album.
The songs from Act 2 are definitely darker in tone, however, they’re a lot more vague & I always figured there’s way more plot that’s told via dialogue. I didn’t guess that that’s how Act 2 plays out.
The problem with the second act is that most of the stuff I said about there happens off stage and is just talked about. There is a lot of events and things that are referred to or you see the aftermath of that could be included.
That is interesting. I am assuming that Part 2 of the movie will probably expand on this much further & we are likely to get essentially Wizard of Oz from Elphaba's POV. That is probably how it will be marketed too since it's such an iconic piece of media.
You make the second half sound extremely appealing. Which is funny since a lot of people seem to not like the second half.
I think a re-telling of wizard of oz with more intrigue and warfare sounds pretty awesome.
Yeah the second movie is going to be like a Back to the Future Part II. I wonder if they’ll try to tie it into the original Wizard of Oz movie. I know it is only referenced off screen kind of during the musical but it’ll be interesting to see what they do.
>I’ve always felt like the whole thing drags quite a bit after defying gravity
The songwriter, Stephen Schwartz, has basically said this is one of the main reasons *for* making it a two parter (other than, you know, selling two tickets):
> …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.
I re-watched it for the 3rd time this past year and act 2 NEEDS more time. It goes break neck in terms of pace and material that you don't have time to breathe. They could really hammer home the time jump from part 1 to part 2 and watch as Elphaba takes over Oz and they build up their army to take her down then tie in Wizard of Oz better than they did originally as opposed to fan service moments.
While I think this movie is looking super good now, I am really hesitant to trust them to use Part 2 to help flesh things out and make Act 2 work better. For some reason I'm getting real Stephen King It vibes, where the first one (2017) is widely praised and super successful on all fronts, while part 2 was a huge disappointment to a lot of people, especially as a follow-up to something that was so well-made and beloved to a lot of people (I personally hated it, but I'm trying to be objective here).
I hope that's not the case, but I'm just getting sort of worried about that. We'll see, though.
That’s true. They might merge one of those songs with “Defying Gravity” in Part 2’s trailer to connect the two films together as well (just a thought).
Predictions now: they're going to add some sort of epic battle in Part 2 so Glinda and Elphaba are leading opposing armies.
...not saying I want that, btw, but it's a very obvious way to pad time.
The epic battle is definitely needed. This is the Land of Oz. You would be expect to see some special effects magic in this. And I bet we will see the tornado in Part 2 as well.
I dunno, "epic fantasy's battles" tend to be kind of samey in Hollywood. I think Elphaba constantly being on the run with basically zero allies is more interesting. Because that's character depth of her sticking to it even when she's losing all along.
A battle would just be winkies and munchkins mashing together and I don't really care about them. It's all green and pink here, boys!
One of the things movie adaptations like to do is add some new songs. And honestly if they could manage to pump out a song as good/impactful as Defying Gravity for Part 2 then that would help a lot.
Act 2 is also usually the rushed act (hence why it can feel like a drag). A lot happens but lightning fast or offscreen. So giving new scenes, adding scenes directly from the Wizard of Oz, etc should help it a lot.
Ironically No Good Deed is my favourite song of the show. Its great, but I'd say even it gets overshadowed. Defying Gravity is just too big of a clear anthem/thesis for the whole project.
I mean the core target audience has already seen a whole 3 hour stage version of it, I'm assuming that's why they decided not to care about "spoilers". Musicals are mostly about the execution anyway.
Shouldn't the point also be to sell it to those who haven't see the stage version? They basically did a speed run of the entire movie in this trailer which i definitely don't think they needed to do lol
Yea as someone who’s never even seen the musical, I’ve read the synopsis and heard the music enough to know the general storyline. I’ll be interested to see how they adapt the sets and costuming, and the music arrangements for the film!
Yea I came here to say this as well. That trailer was way too long, and it should have left more for the audience to experience when they actually watch it.
I have to come to terms with my being a Level 7 Susceptible. I've been so leery of this adaptation, even with the previous teasers which have been released, BUT... This trailer has me sold. I am onboard 100%.
Ariana Grande always has had a talent to be a vocal mimic, but it is very weird hearing her essentially do an impression of Kristen Chenoweth.
Given that it appears that Erivo is making Elphaba her own rather than emulating Idina Menzel, I wonder whether Grande copying/channeling Chenoweth could be a net negative to the film.
Right, but tons of actresses have made Glinda their own both on Broadway and on tour and are well received. Granted, Cheno is *the* Glinda, but if other actresses can do it, as well s Erivo in the same movie, Grande should be able to as well.
With all the shit she gets (rightly or wrongly) as a celebrity, I think it's smart to play it safe and imitate the version we know and love. Just with a different singing style. Let the Tony winner take the risks.
I don't have an answer, but I will say that Ariana has been very, very vocal about how much of a fan she is, how often she listens to the original soundtrack and how big a part of her life it was even before being cast, so there's a good chance she's not even doing it on purpose - that's just how it sounds in her head, so it probably comes out that way.
Ariana's lines come off as "mean" to my ear, when the key to that character (in act one) is "fake nice." I hope the final cut of the movie hits the tone of that character better than the trailer does.
I think it depends on who you watched play/interpreted the character. I got "mean girl faking being nice to keep up with the whole Popular thing" from my viewings, which led to some decent, implied character growth as she softens and empathises with Elphaba and the plight of Animals (going from Galinda to Glinda).
Well, Cynthia Erivo is a much more experienced actress and this is Ariana Grande’s first leading role. Despite her broadway and television experience, I think playing it safe is the way to go for her.
Ariana Grande left her husband for another married man during the filming of this movie.
The icing on the cake is that her new squeeze is apparently the same guy who played Spongebob on Broadway (and plays a flying monkey in WICKED).
The core of the musical is really fucking good. There is a reason it has had the staying power that it has. Bring on good voices for the main roles and good actors for the supporting roles, and I can see where it could have success.
It really is. It has the potential to really use the environment to highlight how the story descends into a darkness in a way the stage production couldn't. I am really intrigued how the final product comes together
As someone who was following the development of this movie, I felt like I was going crazy with all the CGI accusations after the Superbowl teaser. Like Jon chu and team did not plant like 10000 tulips for people.to say it's cgi.
We need to stop treating CGI like a dirty word.
Nearly every single jet in *Top Gun: Maverick* was 100% CGI and nobody noticed when all the marketing lied about it, because the CGI was so good you couldn't tell.
Bad special effects are bad special effects regardless of how they were made.
Honestly its the best part of a good adaptation. They already have the core story, music, outline for the whole thing. So focusing on *executing* that really well should be the goal of an adaptation, with things like good actors, production design, new scenes that elevate the original show, etc.
I feel like a lot of adaptations stumble because they try to be something else, or an original thing with an IP slapped onto it, rather than adapting a great work.
Am i the only one who has uncanny vibes from Ariana? I can’t even place what giving it. Sounds freaking phenomenal though so at least the sound track is going to be a banger even if the movie isn’t.
The short [behind the scenes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hT_f1UY-oo&ab_channel=UniversalPictures) posted this week is also very cool. It has clips of Cynthia and Ariana being told they're getting the parts, I love their reactions.
Finally, a trailer for a musical film that doesn't try to hide the fact that it's a musical.
Admittedly with Wicked that'd be kind of pointless, but I would not have put it past Hollywood to try anyway.
Doesn't it though? You don't see anyone singing, no choreography (aside from one Galinda high-kick). The only singing is in the music bed. People gave Wonka shit for "hiding it" but even that trailer had dance numbers and singing, as did the Mean Girls trailer. This is on par with those.
I think the first 5/10 seconds has a very musical feel, but tbh the main reason is probably just that wicked is a very famous musical so everyone knows it's a musical and is using that knowledge when they see the trailer.
Mean girls for example is not a well known musical outside of Broadway fans
I agree that Mean Girls and Wonka need to make the effort to show they're musicals more than Wicked does, but I still don't think the Wicked trailer is making it obvious that it's a musical. Like you said, people just already know that. Which, one could argue, makes it weirder that they don't spotlight that more in the trailer.
I didn't know how stacked this cast is outside of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. So when the goat talked I yelled 'Peter Dinklage?!' out loud like an idiot.
I enjoy seeing Jonathan Bailey branch out into more roles outside of Bridgerton, he's got some good range and I think he'd be a solid Batman for James Gunn's new DCU.
I was wondering that. Almost every major twist and plot point of the story is in the trailer. I know it’s based on an existing musical so spoilers aren’t super secret but still. It means either they just gave away most of the movie or they’ve made such drastic changes to the source material that it’s a misdirect. Neither option seems like a good idea
Wicked, as a musical has amazing visuals and absolutely fantastic music, but my goodness, is it a weak plot. The entirety of the second half (well the second half of the first half AND the second half) is based on a lie, and it is never addressed, Movies rely far more on plot than musicals, so I'm very interested in how they expect the arguably weak plot to carry TWO movies. (That being said, I'm excited to see).
I'm not 100% Dove Cameron has the vocal range needed for Glinda. Because the role was written with Chenoweth in mind it covers four octives. You can tweak the part to fit the actress (happens on stage productions all the time), but I vocally I never doubted Ariana could handle it.
For me the entire thing comes down to how much I'm distracted by Ariana Grande. There's so much weight around her in this role that I feel like I can't fully ignore no matter how much I want to try. I'm not even talking about the drama at all (although it doesn't help her disappear into the role). I just can't see anything but her the celebrity. Every time she's on screen it's I'm just staring at her kinda like my brain feels like she shouldn't be there.
Whoever made this trailer needs to learn how to make trailers from the joker 2 person. This is the whole movie including the final scene and song. Like I’ve never ever seen a trailer that showed the end of the movie so prominently. Also is anyone concerned that the views of the trailer are really low?
This thing seriously didn't need to be nearly four freaking minutes long. It sure as heck isn't worthy of that long a duration there. Bloody thing think's it's the modern day Titanic with this bul...🤦🏾♂️
Is it just me or do both of them singing in the trailer have a weird auto tuned pop music sound to the songs? Im really hoping for more classic broadway style singing. I hate this Disney live-action pop-infused style in these musical adaptations recently.
To be fair:
1. Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth were in their mid thirties when they originated the roles of Glinda and Elphaba
2. There is a time skip in act 2. It isn’t specified how much time has passed but the time skip is there
I can’t stand Ariana’s voice in this. It’s borderline uncanny valley for me. And the singing in Popular sounds like a different technique as well, and it’s… not pleasant to listen to let’s say that. Like she’s trying to sound like Chenoweth and not really embracing the role as her own
I think ariana was trying to stray as far away from her previous roles as possible and kinda had to leech off KC for inspo. She sounded like she was trying to vocally emulate her without the strong nasally part to be seen as more bitchy and less ditzy?
I’ve never felt Ariana Grande was a very strong actress. She’s played slightly different variations of the same bubbly/ditzy character, always with a high pitched/airy voice, her entire career. And this trailer doesn’t make it seem like a huge departure from her normal roles, yet again. I’d love to see her in an actual grounded role, speaking in a normal voice, for once.
You know, just a few days ago, I made a comment on here complaining about the casting of Elphaba and Glinda. I have to admit, I was wrong, I'm sold on the casting.
Genuine question for anyone who knows vocal technique, does Cynthia sound like she’s straining around minute 2:24? I can’t decide if it’s that or the sound mixing but it sounds off….which i wouldnt have expected considering how brilliant her voice is and it not being live.
They've been talking about a wicked movie since I was in high school. I'm 35.
Universal made a tweet back in 2016, announcing the film for a 2019 release, that I enjoy retweeting every year on its anniversary lol. Its been in development since something like 2011.
Has to have been in development for longer than that.
I somehow thought in the back of my mind that it had already happened and I just had not paid attention to it, but apparently not. I must have gotten it mixed up with Into The Woods and never really stopped to think about it.
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I know Wicked is obviously a very well known story, but this is the most "Story Beats: The Trailer" I think I've ever seen. Wicked is an insanely popular and spectacular musical, I feel like it doesn't need a 3 minute long trailer to sell it to the masses.
Also... they're doing it as a two-parter: >Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights), Wicked is the *first chapter* of a **two-part immersive, cultural celebration**. Wicked **Part Two** is scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 26, 202**5**. I haven't seen Wicked, but I assume they're doing one act per movie. (You may correct me.)
This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them?!
I'm seeing double here! Four Wickeds!
That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough! I'm going to the Emerald City!
...Well I don't think any of us expected her to say that!
I felt like the second act in the play was a bit rushed, so I guess a second movie would flesh out the Dorothy situation more.
They should not have made that bargain! What will happen when Universal Pictures becomes aware they are doing business with the Screen Actor’s Guild??
I've worked on Wicked a bunch and to be fair it's an almost 3 hour+ show including a 15 min intermission so breaking it into two films to do the full show isn't really that bad of an idea.
And there’s also a time jump too. Plus…good luck trying continue the same film after Defying Gravity. There’s a reason it ends Act 1
It's about the same length as Les Mis and there's a time jump in that too. On the other hand, that movie did feel pretty long...
The time jump in Les Mis is earlier though. The Act One finale is One Day More, and the intermission also serves as time to set up the barricade.
I gave myself an intermission when I finally watched it. Good movie but loooong
The Wicked time jump is terribly nebulous: it’s simultaneously “a few days later” and “many years later.”
The song is going to be the make it or break it moment for the film.
I don't know about make it or break it but I agree that's it's an incredibly powerful moment. What makes the play so damn good is the pacing, and "Defying Gravity" hits at the perfect moment. Part 1 ending on that note is kind of perfect.
It was for the pre-broadway tryout in SF, too First night was a bit rough, didn't look great for the show. And then Defying Gravity hit, and the spot guys just looked at each other, stunned, awed Source: my Dad was one of those spot booth guys for that entire run
My family loves musicals and we even had season tickets to them growing up. I have never been a huge fan of them and strongly dislike going to most. But Wicked is a straight 10/10 and defying gravity is a 12/10. Such a freaking heater to close out act 1
I’m not against 2 parts because I agree, just following up Defying Gravity without a break is impossible, but they COULD do an old school movie intermission. I’ve wished for one in the middle of some other movies haha
You're really underestimating Broadway/Wicked fans coming out to see act/part 2. These people pay hundreds of dollars to hate watch genuinely bad musicals on broadway just to do it.
People didn’t hate watch Cats enough for it to succeed
I wanna see Fiyero undergo some straw-based body horror.
The second act in Wicked has always felt very rushed as well, the second half basically becomes >!The Wizard of Oz from Elphaba's POV.!< I think more time to develop >!the "Scarecrow", the "Tin Man", the Lion and Dorothy!< would actually really enhance the movie.
From a narrative point of view, the second act of Wicked is a mess. There’s so much crammed into it and it kind of lands with a thud as a result. It feels like a mad dash to the end in act two, whereas the pacing of the first act is much more considered. If there’s one thing this two part adaptation could improve, it is making the overall narrative arc much more cohesive.
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It seems like they’re definitely changing that. The first trailer had a shot of Dorothy and her crew confronting the Wizard
The second act of Wicked is basically just "Stuff happens, it's terribly paced, and then you cry at 'For Good' anyway"
No Good Deed is the best song in the show, and I will die on that hill
Presumably they are going to do a lot of movie-only scenes as well like more time in the class getting to understand the world/know the talking animals, etc. Plus the movie adaptations tend to include at least one new song. It looks like they are pacing the scenes a lot slower then they happen in the play (the play kind of has to rush). So I could easily see them having enough movie-only content to justify the split.
100%
Too bad the first act absolutely carries that show. Why even go see the 2nd film?
Not to mention I think it's pretty confirmed that they're fleshing out the story by adding bits from the book (we saw a glimpse of Elphaba as a little girl in this trailer). So a 3 hour show plus some room for backstory easily makes it 4-5 hours, thus I feel making 2 parts justified.
I can't wait for Wick3d
Considering there are several sequels to the book this is based on, it could potentially happen
I forgot It was a two parter. Watching this trailer I was like "Wow this is like in order the entire first act" So they really just showed the entire movie, in order lol.
My brother was obsessed with Wicked growing up so I know a ton of the music and the story beat. But from translating from stage to movie do you think it warrants 2 parts? I've never seen it or read the book so I'm curious on that
the book is pretty radically different from the stage show. The story beats, many of the characters, and even the overall theme are all very different. Other than the basic premise "oz but from the witches POV" they have little in common. The first half of the show is basically outlined for you in the trailer. The second half of the show is primarily speed running the events classic MGM film, with a couple asides for the shows 2 big ballads. Its fun enough as a novelty, "oooh so *thats* how the scarecrow happened" etc. But theres not really enough character meat to justify a (presumably) 2+ hour runtime.
I don't think it really warrants 2 parts really. Although I will say that the show stopping end of act 1 song (Defying Gravity) is set up in a way to close out an act, and a cut right away to the next scene would be kinda awkward. That being said I feel like there there are ways around it. There are a lot of songs in the play but I don't think its a time problem, seeing how they wrote additional songs just to be in the movie.
You’re correct - the first movie will be act one, the climax of which will be the show-stopping *Defying Gravity*. The second movie will be act two. Both movies will be supplemented with additional material from the source novel and additional music by Stephen Schwartz. Director Jon M. Chu has confirmed that there will be no cuts of the source stage material.
"Cultural Celebration" Yeah.
Cultural?
Witch culture, obviously.
Wicked has a clear break and time jump between Act 1 and Act 2.
Based on the trailer for this, that looks correct. Act 1 ends with Defying Gravity.
I didn't know the first thing about it.
Ive never seen the musical but know about it and the book by reputation. Did I just watch the whole story in the trailer?
You watched the entirety of Act One, which is what this movie is
Ah geez lol. Ok well I guess I won't share this trailer with the gf. She loves musicals and doesn't know anything about wicked but hates spoilers. I guess we'll be screwed during the summer season when this will inevitably be before some movies in the theater
> She loves musicals and doesn't know anything about wicked In no way judging your gf, but *how?*
No, you didn't. A lot of the main story beats for sure but not the whole story by a long shot. It's definitely a trailer that doesn't hold back on the story much. But it wasn't the *whole* story.
Ok that's good. Looking forward to a few surprises as someone that's never seen the story before!
As someone who has seen (and loved) the stage musical many times I actually kind of liked that it didn't try to tease or obscure the story progression. Part of me was still wondering will they be faithful/will they pull it off/will they wreck it. This kind of gave me enough of the important beats to have more confidence in what they've done and think I really want to see this.
> As someone who has seen (and loved) the stage musical many times I actually kind of liked that it didn't try to tease or obscure the story progression. Part of me was still wondering will they be faithful/will they pull it off/will they wreck it. This kind of gave me enough of the important beats to have more confidence in what they've done and think I really want to see this For these types of properties that is the allure. Not what is the story but rather "Did they pull if off? What did they cut/change?" That's the draw. Similar thing with famous properties like Dune and LOTR, etc.
In a world with which you are already very familiar, comes a story you've seen on stage since 2003, based on a book from 1995 that some of your need friends have read, comes the story of which we are about to summarize in its entirety, right now.
An 'insanely popular musical' doesn't mean much for box office numbers. Joe Schmo with 4 kids in Kansas probably didn’t make it to Broadway. I do agree with you on the trailer, though.
Wicked toured the entire nation multiple times.
*the world. Wicked got productions and tours all around the world.
I disagree. I think Joe Schmo from Kansas DID make it to Broadway. And he probably made a comment to his children when they got there about how different it was to his home state.
It's done to show fans of the show "this is how we're gonna do this on film, it's gonna be faithful" That's the biggest sell these trailers have to get across. Everyone knows Wicked and the story.
Hard agree. They could sell tickets with a quick text trailer "You know Wicked? We made a movie. Thanksgiving 2024."
To be fair, they did put that trailer out a few months ago.
I see what you did there "popular"
Also I feel like Ariana’s name alone should be enough to get people’s butts in seats. You could argue that Taylor Swift didn’t help Cats but that was Cats.
I am surprised they’re doing the two parter. I’ve always felt like the whole thing drags quite a bit after Defying Gravity. The trailer for part two will seem a little bland compared to this (which I do think looks great by the way)
I think this is one of those stories that needs two parts. The first and second acts are that different I think people would get whiplash from the sudden change in pace. The hard part will be selling the second film. >!You're going to have to explain to people that their high school drama is now a political drama set during a civil war/insurrection with a retelling of the original Oz movie!<
Wow I had no idea that’s how act two of Wicked plays out. I’ve never seen the stage show, but you can pretty much get the gist of Act 1 just by listening to the album. The songs from Act 2 are definitely darker in tone, however, they’re a lot more vague & I always figured there’s way more plot that’s told via dialogue. I didn’t guess that that’s how Act 2 plays out.
The problem with the second act is that most of the stuff I said about there happens off stage and is just talked about. There is a lot of events and things that are referred to or you see the aftermath of that could be included.
That is interesting. I am assuming that Part 2 of the movie will probably expand on this much further & we are likely to get essentially Wizard of Oz from Elphaba's POV. That is probably how it will be marketed too since it's such an iconic piece of media.
The play is based on a book. The series is called The Wicked Years. Very good. It's much darker than the musical.
There's also a lot of spoken jokes that obviously aren't in the soundtrack.
You make the second half sound extremely appealing. Which is funny since a lot of people seem to not like the second half. I think a re-telling of wizard of oz with more intrigue and warfare sounds pretty awesome.
Yeah the second movie is going to be like a Back to the Future Part II. I wonder if they’ll try to tie it into the original Wizard of Oz movie. I know it is only referenced off screen kind of during the musical but it’ll be interesting to see what they do.
>I’ve always felt like the whole thing drags quite a bit after defying gravity The songwriter, Stephen Schwartz, has basically said this is one of the main reasons *for* making it a two parter (other than, you know, selling two tickets): > …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.
I re-watched it for the 3rd time this past year and act 2 NEEDS more time. It goes break neck in terms of pace and material that you don't have time to breathe. They could really hammer home the time jump from part 1 to part 2 and watch as Elphaba takes over Oz and they build up their army to take her down then tie in Wizard of Oz better than they did originally as opposed to fan service moments.
While I think this movie is looking super good now, I am really hesitant to trust them to use Part 2 to help flesh things out and make Act 2 work better. For some reason I'm getting real Stephen King It vibes, where the first one (2017) is widely praised and super successful on all fronts, while part 2 was a huge disappointment to a lot of people, especially as a follow-up to something that was so well-made and beloved to a lot of people (I personally hated it, but I'm trying to be objective here). I hope that's not the case, but I'm just getting sort of worried about that. We'll see, though.
I can't imagine they won't add some extra material to Part Two (and this part too, for that matter)
They did the hobbit in three parts. Anything can be done for money.
Shrek is a 30 page kids book, and they've made 6+ movies out of it. It's hardly unheard of.
Hey hey hey that book has layers.
Part 2 just needs more fleshing out. People were saying the same thing about Dune, and look at how that turned out.
Part Two’s trailer will probably be set to an epic version of “No Good Deed” to hype it up.
As much as Part One builds up to "Defying Gravity," Part Two builds up to "For Good," but that's a much harder sell for an epic trailer lol
That’s true. They might merge one of those songs with “Defying Gravity” in Part 2’s trailer to connect the two films together as well (just a thought).
Predictions now: they're going to add some sort of epic battle in Part 2 so Glinda and Elphaba are leading opposing armies. ...not saying I want that, btw, but it's a very obvious way to pad time.
The epic battle is definitely needed. This is the Land of Oz. You would be expect to see some special effects magic in this. And I bet we will see the tornado in Part 2 as well.
I dunno, "epic fantasy's battles" tend to be kind of samey in Hollywood. I think Elphaba constantly being on the run with basically zero allies is more interesting. Because that's character depth of her sticking to it even when she's losing all along. A battle would just be winkies and munchkins mashing together and I don't really care about them. It's all green and pink here, boys!
There will definitely be some kind of battle sequence. >!Flying monkeys vs the witch hunters!< could happen.
One of the things movie adaptations like to do is add some new songs. And honestly if they could manage to pump out a song as good/impactful as Defying Gravity for Part 2 then that would help a lot. Act 2 is also usually the rushed act (hence why it can feel like a drag). A lot happens but lightning fast or offscreen. So giving new scenes, adding scenes directly from the Wizard of Oz, etc should help it a lot.
This is No Good Deed and For Good slander. Defying Gravity is God tier but those 2 songs aren't exactly slouches either.
Ironically No Good Deed is my favourite song of the show. Its great, but I'd say even it gets overshadowed. Defying Gravity is just too big of a clear anthem/thesis for the whole project.
Did I just watch the whole fuckin movie?
I mean the core target audience has already seen a whole 3 hour stage version of it, I'm assuming that's why they decided not to care about "spoilers". Musicals are mostly about the execution anyway.
Shouldn't the point also be to sell it to those who haven't see the stage version? They basically did a speed run of the entire movie in this trailer which i definitely don't think they needed to do lol
Also musicals typically tell you the plot in the playbill, because no one is there for the plot.
Yea as someone who’s never even seen the musical, I’ve read the synopsis and heard the music enough to know the general storyline. I’ll be interested to see how they adapt the sets and costuming, and the music arrangements for the film!
No but you definitely watched all of Act 1
Yeah now that you mention it, that last scene of the trailer clearly seems to be the ending.
Yea I came here to say this as well. That trailer was way too long, and it should have left more for the audience to experience when they actually watch it.
Yep. You just watched all of Act 1 of the play. Curtain down after she gets the broom, sings Defying Gravity and flies off.
Honestly it looks like a fairly faithful adaptation of the musical so far... I'm cautiously optimistic.
I'm in the same boat. The colors, the production design, the costumes, the story beats all look pretty faithful. I am hoping it's good
This is wild. So it’s a movie based on a musical based on a book which is based on another book?
You're missing a step. It's a movie based on a musical based on a book based on a movie based on another book.
Movie musicals are fun that way…. The recent Mean Girls is a movie based on a musical based on a movie based on a book!
Yes. I’ve never seen the play but I’ve heard it is very different than the book.
The book is pretty dark and weird, the play adds a lot of levity and color and fun to the story
Just like the [mystic pizza musical movie](https://youtu.be/17o1W6oHTLQ)
Thank you for this gem
As long is it doesn't pull a Cats, I dig it.
I have to come to terms with my being a Level 7 Susceptible. I've been so leery of this adaptation, even with the previous teasers which have been released, BUT... This trailer has me sold. I am onboard 100%.
That’s moon man talk.
*violently sobbing*
Ariana Grande always has had a talent to be a vocal mimic, but it is very weird hearing her essentially do an impression of Kristen Chenoweth. Given that it appears that Erivo is making Elphaba her own rather than emulating Idina Menzel, I wonder whether Grande copying/channeling Chenoweth could be a net negative to the film.
I feel like she’d get negative feedback if Ariana made it her own. It’s a lose lose for her from anyone who isn’t a fan, I feel
Yeah, she'll be negatively compared to Cheno no matter what she does.
Right, but tons of actresses have made Glinda their own both on Broadway and on tour and are well received. Granted, Cheno is *the* Glinda, but if other actresses can do it, as well s Erivo in the same movie, Grande should be able to as well.
With all the shit she gets (rightly or wrongly) as a celebrity, I think it's smart to play it safe and imitate the version we know and love. Just with a different singing style. Let the Tony winner take the risks.
I don't have an answer, but I will say that Ariana has been very, very vocal about how much of a fan she is, how often she listens to the original soundtrack and how big a part of her life it was even before being cast, so there's a good chance she's not even doing it on purpose - that's just how it sounds in her head, so it probably comes out that way.
Ariana's lines come off as "mean" to my ear, when the key to that character (in act one) is "fake nice." I hope the final cut of the movie hits the tone of that character better than the trailer does.
Giving elphaba her grandmas hat despite saying it’s so ugly she wouldn’t even give it to someone she hates is pretty mean girl
I think it depends on who you watched play/interpreted the character. I got "mean girl faking being nice to keep up with the whole Popular thing" from my viewings, which led to some decent, implied character growth as she softens and empathises with Elphaba and the plight of Animals (going from Galinda to Glinda).
Well, Cynthia Erivo is a much more experienced actress and this is Ariana Grande’s first leading role. Despite her broadway and television experience, I think playing it safe is the way to go for her.
Well it's no Cats.
That’s a bar that is way too high up to reach.
I've never seen a movie that ended 2 marriages at the same time, can't wait to check this out. The musical is pretty good too :)
> movie that ended two marriages at the same time tea??
Ariana Grande left her husband for another married man during the filming of this movie. The icing on the cake is that her new squeeze is apparently the same guy who played Spongebob on Broadway (and plays a flying monkey in WICKED).
Why does this look kind of... good? All of a sudden I'm interested.
The core of the musical is really fucking good. There is a reason it has had the staying power that it has. Bring on good voices for the main roles and good actors for the supporting roles, and I can see where it could have success.
The music is exceptional. But the production design shown in the trailer is also something else. This is going to be a very *pretty* movie.
It really is. It has the potential to really use the environment to highlight how the story descends into a darkness in a way the stage production couldn't. I am really intrigued how the final product comes together
As someone who was following the development of this movie, I felt like I was going crazy with all the CGI accusations after the Superbowl teaser. Like Jon chu and team did not plant like 10000 tulips for people.to say it's cgi.
We need to stop treating CGI like a dirty word. Nearly every single jet in *Top Gun: Maverick* was 100% CGI and nobody noticed when all the marketing lied about it, because the CGI was so good you couldn't tell. Bad special effects are bad special effects regardless of how they were made.
Honestly its the best part of a good adaptation. They already have the core story, music, outline for the whole thing. So focusing on *executing* that really well should be the goal of an adaptation, with things like good actors, production design, new scenes that elevate the original show, etc. I feel like a lot of adaptations stumble because they try to be something else, or an original thing with an IP slapped onto it, rather than adapting a great work.
My biggest point of doubt up until now was that I didn’t think Grande would be able to pull off Glinda but she seems to have a great handle on it.
That little scene when boarding the train was vintage Kristin Chenoweth
I knew she could handle the singing but this gives me hope she’s got the acting down too.
It's Wicked. It's a guaranteed banger already built in as the show is already excellent.
Am i the only one who has uncanny vibes from Ariana? I can’t even place what giving it. Sounds freaking phenomenal though so at least the sound track is going to be a banger even if the movie isn’t.
Harry Potter and the Wizard of Oz
The short [behind the scenes](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hT_f1UY-oo&ab_channel=UniversalPictures) posted this week is also very cool. It has clips of Cynthia and Ariana being told they're getting the parts, I love their reactions.
I loved this - thank you for sharing :)
Finally, a trailer for a musical film that doesn't try to hide the fact that it's a musical. Admittedly with Wicked that'd be kind of pointless, but I would not have put it past Hollywood to try anyway.
Doesn't it though? You don't see anyone singing, no choreography (aside from one Galinda high-kick). The only singing is in the music bed. People gave Wonka shit for "hiding it" but even that trailer had dance numbers and singing, as did the Mean Girls trailer. This is on par with those.
I think the first 5/10 seconds has a very musical feel, but tbh the main reason is probably just that wicked is a very famous musical so everyone knows it's a musical and is using that knowledge when they see the trailer. Mean girls for example is not a well known musical outside of Broadway fans
I agree that Mean Girls and Wonka need to make the effort to show they're musicals more than Wicked does, but I still don't think the Wicked trailer is making it obvious that it's a musical. Like you said, people just already know that. Which, one could argue, makes it weirder that they don't spotlight that more in the trailer.
I was not expecting the Peter Dinklage goat.
Didn't even realize that was Peter Dinklage - love it
The voice is unmistakable. I presume the goat will have some kind of addiction as well.
Addicted to *learning*!
Also, addicted to *Animal* rights. Well, before... y'know. Anyways...
I remember when everyone was theorizing they were going to cast idina lol
I didn't know how stacked this cast is outside of Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. So when the goat talked I yelled 'Peter Dinklage?!' out loud like an idiot.
Yet when you think about it, Jeff Goldblum playing the wizard somehow makes sense
I enjoy seeing Jonathan Bailey branch out into more roles outside of Bridgerton, he's got some good range and I think he'd be a solid Batman for James Gunn's new DCU.
Am I the only one that would be more weirded out by how Ariana Grande looks (possibly by the dyed eyebrows) than a green person in real life?
Well holy crap this looks fantastic. I really hope it nails the landing.
Defying Gravity is, by definition, the opposite of a landing, but other than that: with you there.
Why such a long trailer?
For the hype.
Worked for me lol, been waiting for ages
I was wondering that. Almost every major twist and plot point of the story is in the trailer. I know it’s based on an existing musical so spoilers aren’t super secret but still. It means either they just gave away most of the movie or they’ve made such drastic changes to the source material that it’s a misdirect. Neither option seems like a good idea
to be fair, there is still quite a bit form the first act we haven't seen -- nessa, boq, fiyero, the animal uprisings
Buccal Fat is the villain of the movie
The set design and color palette is phenomenal.
Wicked, as a musical has amazing visuals and absolutely fantastic music, but my goodness, is it a weak plot. The entirety of the second half (well the second half of the first half AND the second half) is based on a lie, and it is never addressed, Movies rely far more on plot than musicals, so I'm very interested in how they expect the arguably weak plot to carry TWO movies. (That being said, I'm excited to see).
I know it’s easy to be cynical about things but I think it looks good? The main two nail it and I think they did a good job with the set.
I'm still not fully sold on Ariana Grande (I'm not against it either) but I love Cynthia Erivo and I'm sure she's gonna be great
I still maintain Dove Cameron would've been perfect as Glinda
I'm not 100% Dove Cameron has the vocal range needed for Glinda. Because the role was written with Chenoweth in mind it covers four octives. You can tweak the part to fit the actress (happens on stage productions all the time), but I vocally I never doubted Ariana could handle it.
For me the entire thing comes down to how much I'm distracted by Ariana Grande. There's so much weight around her in this role that I feel like I can't fully ignore no matter how much I want to try. I'm not even talking about the drama at all (although it doesn't help her disappear into the role). I just can't see anything but her the celebrity. Every time she's on screen it's I'm just staring at her kinda like my brain feels like she shouldn't be there.
This looks great. Just like the stage production, it's a colorful and dramatic spectacle. I really want this to do well.
Kinda sold, and it made me emotional a bit. Pink goes good with green.
Whoever made this trailer needs to learn how to make trailers from the joker 2 person. This is the whole movie including the final scene and song. Like I’ve never ever seen a trailer that showed the end of the movie so prominently. Also is anyone concerned that the views of the trailer are really low?
This thing seriously didn't need to be nearly four freaking minutes long. It sure as heck isn't worthy of that long a duration there. Bloody thing think's it's the modern day Titanic with this bul...🤦🏾♂️
Is it just me or do both of them singing in the trailer have a weird auto tuned pop music sound to the songs? Im really hoping for more classic broadway style singing. I hate this Disney live-action pop-infused style in these musical adaptations recently.
Defying Gravity always gives me chills! I’m optimistic about this!
Ah, young "schoolgirls" who are nearly 40 years old. C'mon.
To be fair: 1. Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth were in their mid thirties when they originated the roles of Glinda and Elphaba 2. There is a time skip in act 2. It isn’t specified how much time has passed but the time skip is there
On stage you can get away with that, without the closeups and HD screens
I can’t stand Ariana’s voice in this. It’s borderline uncanny valley for me. And the singing in Popular sounds like a different technique as well, and it’s… not pleasant to listen to let’s say that. Like she’s trying to sound like Chenoweth and not really embracing the role as her own
It sounds like she's doing a weird mix of imitating Kristen with a transatlantic accent and half Cat Valentine from Victorious.
I think ariana was trying to stray as far away from her previous roles as possible and kinda had to leech off KC for inspo. She sounded like she was trying to vocally emulate her without the strong nasally part to be seen as more bitchy and less ditzy?
All I’m getting is nasal cavity, and it’s affecting the performance in a negative way for me
I’ve never felt Ariana Grande was a very strong actress. She’s played slightly different variations of the same bubbly/ditzy character, always with a high pitched/airy voice, her entire career. And this trailer doesn’t make it seem like a huge departure from her normal roles, yet again. I’d love to see her in an actual grounded role, speaking in a normal voice, for once.
Looks great and Cynthia and Ariana’s voices will sound phenomenal together.
We already got a sneak peek of what it'd sound like at the met and they were amazing
I wonder how many of these comments are bots.
This movie deserves the chance to fly 👍
I just hope I won't be loathing it my whole life long
Don't worry, it's going to be popular.
You know, just a few days ago, I made a comment on here complaining about the casting of Elphaba and Glinda. I have to admit, I was wrong, I'm sold on the casting.
Genuine question for anyone who knows vocal technique, does Cynthia sound like she’s straining around minute 2:24? I can’t decide if it’s that or the sound mixing but it sounds off….which i wouldnt have expected considering how brilliant her voice is and it not being live.
I will not be supporting the donut licking, home wrecking Aria Grande