Wicked songwriter Stephen Schwartz has gone on record to explain why the Wicked movies, set to be released in December 2024 and 2025, have to be split into two separate movies instead of one. Stephen Schwartz attributes the decision to split the Wicked movies to not only runtime and the ability to tell a bigger story across two movies but also to the theatrical origins of the Wicked soundtrack, stating, “nothing can follow Defying Gravity.”
Wicked first premiered on Broadway in 2003, starring Idina Menzel and Kristen Chenoweth as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. The musical took inspiration from Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, which in and of itself draws on the 1939 Wizard of Oz novel and the 1900 Frank L. Baum novel.
Wicked: the Musical, the Movies, and the Music
The musical follows Elphaba, who will be later known as the Wicked Witch of the West, as she enrolls in the magical Shiz University and meets her roommate Galinda, later the Good Witch Glinda. Elphaba dreams of meeting the fabled Wizard of Oz. Still, throughout the musical, she discovers that the Wizard is a fraud and swears revenge on him, leading to her being scorned by the citizens of the Emerald City and earning the title the Wicked Witch of the West.
One of the production’s most well-known songs, “Defying Gravity,” serves as the Act I closer, expressing Elphaba’s desire to escape Emerald City and reach new levels of magical prowess. Wicked songwriter Stephen Schwartz, who was behind the creation of the original Wicked soundtrack, describes “Defying Gravity” as a song “written specifically to bring a curtain down” and that “whatever scene to follow it without a break just seemed hugely anti-climactic,” per Variety. He explains that this is one of a few reasons to split the movie in two; the other reason being the runtime, with the singular movie being too long for a single sitting, but cutting the movie down to size meant leaving out key moments the production team wanted to include. In summary, as Schwartz told Variety:
“So, for these two reasons…plus the excitement of doing something that’s never been done before with a musical, we have decided to do two movies. Of course, when it’s all done, if it doesn’t work that way, we’ll have to figure something out. But we strongly believe that this is what’s best for our story, our show, and our fans.”
The Wicked movies, directed by Jon M. Chu and starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, are set to be released in December 2024 and 2025.