Wicked

This article is about the 2024 film. For its soundtrack, see Wicked: The Soundtrack. For its sequel, see Wicked: For Good. For other uses, see Wicked (disambiguation).

Wicked
General information
Director	Jon M. Chu
Producer	Marc Platt David Stone Brian Popkin
Release date	November 22, 2024
Starring	Ariana Grande Cynthia Erivo Marissa Bode Ethan Slater Michelle Yeoh Jeff Goldblum Jonathan Bailey Bowen Yang Bronwyn James Colin Michael Carmichael Aaron Teoh Guan Ti Keala Settle
Running time	160 minutes

Wicked is a double feature produced by Universal Studios and with the first part being released on November 22, 2024, and the second part set to release on November 21, 2025.

It is based on the critically acclaimed Broadway Musical of the same name and Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. The film is directed by Jon M. Chu known for directing the 2021 movie adaptation of In The Heights, a movie that Ariana loved and for which she also participated in the promo campaign.

Synopsis

When Elphaba encounters obstacles when entering her school, she meets Glinda, a cheerful yet preppy schoolgirl, and they become best friends. She then meets the Wizard of Oz, who promises to help her become a witch.

“

In an alternate look at the land of Oz, the true heroine is wrongfully cast as the "wicked" witch and actually turns out to be a freedom fighter who battles against the wizard for her homeland.

”

Background

Ariana via Instagram on November 4, 2021.

On November 4, 2021 Ariana posted on Instagram a photo of herself in front of a laptop, covering her face and captioned 'thank goodness'. She also tagged 3 people, including Wicked's Instagram account. It has been confirmed that Ariana will be in the upcoming movie, portraying her dream role, Glinda. After word spread about her casting, fans started looking back at old tweets. Back in 2011, Grande tweeted 'Loved seeing Wicked again...amazing production! Made me realize again how badly I want to 2 play Glinda at some point in my life! #DreamRole'.

On April 26, 2022 Jon M. Chu announced via the Instagram account of the movie that there will be 2 movies released in 2024 and 2025, both set to be released for Christmas. The production of both movies (as they were originally planned to be one movie) started on December 7, 2022. On March 14, 2023, it was announced by the director that the movie's released date was moved to November 27, 2024 instead of December 25, 2024.

On March 17, 2023, Jon M. Chu posted on twitter announcing their about halfway through the filming Wicked. On April 3, 2023, Ariana Grande shared an emotional Instagram post, once again confirming that production of the film is at the half-way mark. The caption reads, "halfway. savoring every millisecond left with my Glinda (although she’ll be with me irrevocably, forever)...i am so grateful, i don’t know what to do or say… to be here in Oz where everyday is a life changing one...to be feeling, learning and growing so much at such a disarming speed...to feel so much love around me..." In her post, Ariana mentioned her tremendous gratitude and emphasized her desire to be present during this life-changing experience. She wrote, "i hope this isn’t all a dream because as present as i am attempting to be, it sure does feel like one. happy halfway to this most beautiful crew. my fellow Ozians. my heart will be stuck here forever."

Promotion

On February 10, 2024, Jon M. Chu tweeted, "Happy Saturday!" with a green heart emoji right before the word "Happy" hinting at a Wicked teaser possibly coming out on the following day, Super Bowl LVIII. The day of the game, Jon posted on X again, "Oh, look, it's tomorrow" with a pink heart right after the word "tomorrow" confirming the release of the Wicked teaser during the commercials of Super Bowl LVIII. The "first look" teaser was later revealed that day.

On April 10, 2024, the Wicked cast attended CinemaCon to promote the movie. The first trailer was shown for the movie's showcase.

On May 13, 2024, Jon M. Chu tweeted the featurette for the film, revealing the footage of when Ariana and Cynthia were cast as their characters along with some sneak peeks for the film. He also announced that the full trailer will be released on May 15th, 2024. The trailer was released that day.

On August 12, 2024, a teaser trailer centering the character, Fiyero, was released. On August 26, 2024, it was revealed that the Wicked cast would be joining the The Kelly Clarkson Show sometime in her upcoming season starting September 23, 2024, as part of the promotion cycle for the first movie.

On September 3, 2024, a teaser trailer centering the character, Nessarose, was released. Later that day, the first movie was rated PG, and then the following day, character posters for the movie were released on the @wickedmovie Instagram account, announcing there would be a new trailer movie coming on September 5, 2024. The trailer was released that day. On September 11, 2024, a teaser trailer for Grande's character, Glinda, was released. It was played during one of the commercial breaks during the 2024 MTV Video Music Awards.

On October 8, 2024, it was announced that tickets will be open for sale starting the following day. On October 9, 2024, along with ticket presale, the movie was also confirmed to be released in Dolby Cinema, IMAX, ScreenX, 4DX, RealD 3D and D-BOX.

The film's promo tour began in Sydney, Australia on November 3, 2024, with a premiere and numerous interviews. The film's US premiere was hosted in Los Angeles on November 9, 2024, with many celebrities in attendance, including Trisha Paytas, Troye Sivan, Laufey, Kristin Chenoweth, Victoria Monét and Normani. It was later followed by a premiere in Mexico City on November 11, 2024.

On November 10, 2024, a recall was issued for some of the character dolls created by Mattel, as they mistakenly included a link to an NSFW site instead of the correct Wicked website, wickedmovie.com.

On December 17, 2024, Amazon opened pre-orders for the film, with the release date set to March 31, 2025. On December 23, 2024, pre-orders on iTunes and Prime Video displayed the streaming release of the film to be January 3, 2025.

Production

Ariana visiting Wicked on broadway on February 19th, 2022.

On November 5, 2021, Jon M. Chu announced that Ariana Grande would be playing Glinda alongside Cynthia Erivo who was cast as Elphaba. In a later announcement, it was announced that the movie was going to be released on November 27, 2024 in theaters. In a later announcement, Jon M. Chu exclaimed that there was going to be cast changes coming on December 2024, and that there was more coming soon.

The second movie of Wicked was announced shortly after. Because the Wicked movie is based entirely on the book written by Gregory MaGuire, the second film will continue the story of Wicked. They decided to cut the movie in half so that viewers wouldn't have to sit through four hours of movies.

On October 11th, 2022, Ariana Grande and the rest of her cast members did their first rehearsal of Wicked, and continued doing rehearsals from then on.

Cast

• Ariana Grande as Glinda
• Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba
• Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero
• Marissa Bode as Nessarose
• Ethan Slater as Boq
• Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible
• Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard
• Keala Settle as Miss Coddle
• Bronwyn James as ShenShen
• Bowen Yang as Pfannee
• Aaron Teoh Guan Ti as Avaric
• Adam James as Glinda's Father
• Colin Michael Carmichael as Nikidik
• Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond
• Kristin Chenoweth as Wizomania Singer
• Idina Menzel as Wizomania Singer

(Credits taken from IMBD.)

In Ariana Grande's Instagram post on November 4, 2021, she included a picture of flowers sent by her fellow cast-mate with a note that read, " 'Pink Goes With Green' Congratulations Miss A. The Part Was Made For You. I Look Forward To Sharing This Musical Journey With You. Love, Cynthia"

Cynthia had also posted a picture the same day on her Instagram of flowers sent by Ariana. It had read, 'Dear Cynthia, honored doesn't even begin to cover it. I cannot wait to hug you. See you in Oz. All of my Love, Ari'.

Merchandise

Main article: Merchandise - Wicked

Merchandise for the Wicked movies began appearing in adverts in July 2024, including collections with Mattel, LEGO, and more.

Trivia

• Grande revealed on the @sentmenpod on November 1, 2024, that her first real ‘WICKED’ audition took place on August 13, 2021. During the audition, she sang "No One Mourns The Wicked", "Popular", "The Wizard And I", and "Defying Gravity".
• The filming of Wicked concluded on January 26, 2024.
• More than 9 million tulips were planted by hand on set.
• Re-shoots took place in early 2024 where Grande went back to London for a week.
• Both Ariana and Cynthia were interviewed by Vanity Fair to talk about their experiences filming the movie. You can read the interview here.
• Auditions for Wicked (for Ariana) started on August 13, 2021.
• In the music video for "The Boy Is Mine", the official Wicked poster can be spotted in the rooftops scene.

Gallery

“did i dream the whole thing?” To view the Wicked gallery, click here.

Crew

Production

• Marc Platt (producer)
• Brian Popkin (line producer)
• David Stone (producer)

Cinematrography

• Alice Brooks (cinematographer)

Casting

• Tiffany Little Canfield
• Bernard Telsey

Production Design

• Nathan Crowley

Art Direction

• Ben Collins (supervising art director)
• Gavin Fitch (senior art director)
• Jordana Finkel (art director)
• Sarah Ginn (art director)
• Hugh McClelland (art director)
• Quinn Robinson (art director)
• Luke Sanders (art director)

Costume Design

• Paul Tazewell (costume designer)

Makeup Department

• Laura Blount (crowd hair and make-up supervisor)
• Karen Cohen (key make-up & hair supervisor)
• Frances Hannon (hair, make-up, & prosthetics designer)
• Alex Holmes (hair and makeup junior)
• Nicola Sacks (daily crowd hair and makeup trainee)
• Sarah Blair (hair and makeup trainee, main team)
• Becky Sheridan (junior makeup artist, main team)
• Sinead Sweeney (SFXcContact lens optician)

Production Management

• Miranda Marks
• Luca Edo Russot

Assistant Director

• Jack Ravenscroft

Art Department

• Alex Abelman (supervising carpenter)
• Andy Adams (set sec painter)
• David Allcock (storyboard artist)
• Nicola Bisello (set dec coordinator)
• Martin Brown (standby stagehand)
• Jack Cave (senior modelmaker)
• Andy Challis (hod rigger)
• Charlotte Charik (construction coordinator)
• Deano Harry Coldham (plasterer)
• John Colebourn (storyboard artist)
• Dan Crawshaw (chargehand dressing props)
• Scott Creane (carpenter)
• Claudia Dance-Wells (model maker: art department)
• Quentin Davies (props storeman)
• Maggie Ditré (assistant art director)
• Gerard Dunleavy (concept artist)
• Scot Erb (senior model maker)
• Teri Fairhurst (assistant art director)
• Tessa Flanagan (draughtsperson)
• Pip Fox (assistant property master)
• Marianne Gallagher (3D CAD Propmaking)
• Lara Genovese (set designer)
• Turlo Griffin (concept artist)
• Mark Haydon (Chargehand Carpenter)
• Ida Fly Hedqvist (On set Art Director 2nd Unit)
• Richard Henley (Set Dec Draftsperson)
• David Hodges (Hod Sculptor)
• Nathan Holt (Supervising prop hand)
• Charlie Horwood (supervising stand-by props: 2nd unit)
• Jason Houssein (Draughtsperson)
• Holly Hudson (art department assistant)
• Peter James (on set art director)
• Vincent Jenkins (Concept artist)
• Deborah Jurvis (art department coordinator)
• Philip Keller (storyboard artist)
• Bria Kinter (set designer)
• Karen Krizanovich (Art Department Researcher)
• Alice La Trobe (draughtsperson)
• Chris Lees (digital set designer)
• Anita Ley (art department production assistant)
• Matt Lowde (Riggers Labourer)
• Tom Mouland (carpenter)
• Duncan Mude (supervisor miniature modelmaker)
• Jordan Muir (Draughtsperson)
• Anthony Noble (graphic designer)
• Pietro Nume (Concept Artist)
• Jonathan Opgenhaffen (concept artist)
• David Packard (Scenic artist)
• Maisie Simon Padmore (Junior Prop Hand)
• Joe Patten (art department assistant)
• Claire Peerless (assistant art director)
• Chris Peters (hod metalworker)
• Andy Povey (Junior Greensman)
• Esmeralda Power (graphic designer)
• Michael Pybus (Assistant Art Director)
• Mark Seath (Construction Manager)
• Pollyanna Seath (Supervising Construction Coordinator)
• Jack Sellers (Set Dec Painter)
• Shona Sharma (Art Department Assistant)
• Dean Sherriff (Concept Designer)
• Robert Shillibeer (Carpenter)
• Ryan Sinnott (Standby Carpenter)
• Oliver Smith (Action Prop Buyer)
• George Sparks (Prop Hand)
• Talia Spencer (Concept Illustrator)
• Tom Stacey (Greensman)
• Harry Taylor (Draughtsman)
• Conrad Tuffin (HOD Greensman)
• Kurt van der Basch (Storyboard Artist)
• Julie Vash (Set Designer)
• Ella Wolfnoth (Artist)
• Andy Young (Assistant Art Director)
• Yod Yutamanop (Prop Hand)
• Hang Dara Zhao (Assistant Art Director)
• Turner Hill (Digital Asset Manager, Uncredited)

Sound Department

• Taz Fairbanks (second assistant sound)
• Arthur Fenn (key first assistant sound)
• Billy Hayes (second assistant sound: second unit)
• Simon Hayes (production sound mixer)
• Robin Johnson (first assistant sound)
• Josh Winslade (on-set Pro Tools music editor)

Special Effects

• Mark Day (special effects technician)
• Mark Evans (lead senior technician)
• Andrew Hayes (senior design technician)
• Andrew Homan (special effects technician)
• Tomasz Podraza (engineer)
• Charlie R. Robinson (wireman)

Visual Effects

• Pablo Helman (visual effects supervisor)
• Chris Lynch (visual effects on-set supervisor)
• Matthew Wight (visualization production manager: the third floor)

Stunts

• Daryl Andrews (head stunt rigger)
• Dave Boyle (stunt performer)
• Alard Hufner (stunt rigger)
• Daniel Medina Ramos (stunt previz)
• Raj Paul (stunt performer)
• Rebecca Pendarves (stunt department coordinator)

Camera and Electrical Department

• Lauren Allaway (DIT Trainee)
• Daniel Bocking (console operator/main unit)
• Jeremy Braben (Aerial director of photography)
• Jason French (Supervising Electrical Rigger)
• Lewis Hume (first assistant camera: "a" camera, main unit)
• Marc Jenner (dit trainee)
• Giles Keyte (still photographer)
• Vince Madden (Supervisor Rigging Electrician)
• David McCarthy (Electrical Rigger)
• Guy McCormack (Video Playback Operator)
• Jed Mitchell (Electrical Rigger)
• Alex Schilke (data tech/electrician: main unit)
• Lee Schofield (HOD Electrical Rigger)

Casting Department

• Dana Gaier (casting assistant)
• George Ludlow (casting associate)
• Tamsyn Manson (UK Casting Associate)
• Ryan Bernard Tymensky (casting associate)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

• Jason Castagna (Concept Illustrator)
• Imogene Chayes (costume concept artist)
• Maria Endara (senior costume maker)
• Katerina Kojeva (costume illustrator)
• Caroline Lindop (Costume Illustrator)
• Bobby Soutar (assistant costume designer)
• Darrell Warner (costume illustrator)

Editorial Department

• Lucie Barbier (dailies colourist)

Location Department

• Marialucia Apicella (assistant location manager)
• Florence Cleverdon (location manager)
• Lilly-Ann Jones (location assistant)
• Lisa Latter (location manager)
• Ashleigh Powell (assistant location manager)
• Adam Richards (supervising location manager)

Music Department

• Dominick Amendum (Production Music Supervisor)
• Robin Baynton (Music Engineer)
• Bronwen Chan (Music Assistant)
• Millie Davies (Music Trainee)
• Ian Eisendrath (Executive Music Consultant)
• Ben Holder (Music Associate)
• Stephen Oremus (Executive Music Producer)
• Maggie Rodford (Music Supervisor)
• Stephen Schwartz (music and lyrics by)
• Michael Stringer (music trainee)
• Greg Wells (Music Producer)

Script and Continuity Department

• Bex Church (2nd Unit Script Supervisor)
• Lisa Vick (script supervisor)

Transportation Department

• Nathaniel Stewart (Tech Hod)

Additional Crew

• Yasmin Amin (production secretary)
• Daren Bailey (Marine Coordinator)
• Rachel Benicek (2nd assistant accountant)
• Hannah Campbell (covid pa)
• Wayne Cilento (stage choreographer)
• David Downing (health & safety manager)
• Jon Duncan (financial controller)
• Sean Duncan (Assistant Construction Accountant)
• Matthew Ellis (assistant production coordinator)
• Jessica Evans (assistant)
• Tayla Gilbert (Travel and Accommodation Coordinator)
• Ingrid Graham (Dancer)
• Omar Haggag (Set PA: Second Unit)
• Lauren James (production coordinator: second unit)
• Martin Jenkins (Medic)
• Will Loftis (associate choreographer)
• Rebecca Maguire (2nd Unit Production Assistant)
• Ann Pattison-Bingham (asset coordinator)
• Elizabeth Perkins (assistant production coordinator)
• Nejel Reyes (Screen Credits)
• Kianne Sadeq (accounts trainee)
• Carly Schoepflin (travel coordinator)
• Christopher Scott (choreographer)
• Etty Stanley (production secretary)
• Rob Stull (production assistant)
• Rog Ward (medic)