The story of Wicked begins in 1995 when Gregory Maguire reimagined L. Frank Baum’s classic novel, The Wizard of Oz, into the literary phenomenon. Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz. In 2003, producers Marc Platt and David Stone, writer Winnie Holzman and composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz adapted it into a hit Broadway musical starring Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. Now, the film adaptation of Wicked, the first chapter of a two-part immersive cultural celebration directed by Jon M. Chu is set to release on November 22, 2024. Wicked Part Two is scheduled for release next year, on November 21, 2025.
The Origin of Wicked: The Novel
In 1995, almost a century after L. Frank Baum’s enduring classic, The Wizard of Oz, first hit bookshelves in the year 1900, novelist Gregory Maguire reinvented Baum’s world in his bestseller Wicked. The novel, about the untold stories of the witches of Oz, Elphaba and Glinda set in the years before Dorothy dropped in, became a literary sensation.
A New Chapter Begins: Wicked on Broadway
A few years later, in 2003, producers Marc Platt and David Stone, composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz and writer Winnie Holzman set out to enchant audiences of all generations by introducing Wicked on Broadway. Inspired by the passion and commitment of that creative team, the visionary leadership at Universal created a theatrical production wing to bring Wicked to life on the stage. The studio was so integral to the stage musical’s history, in fact, that the first ever table read for the stage musical took place on the Universal Studios Lot.
Produced by Marc Platt, who is also producing the film, the original production of Wicked premiered on Broadway at the Gershwin Theatre in October 2003, after completing pre-Broadway tryouts at San Francisco’s Curran Theater in May and June of that year. The original Broadway production won a total of three Tony Awards and seven Drama Desk Awards while its original cast album received a Grammy Award. The success of the Broadway production has spawned many productions worldwide, including a long-running West End production. Wicked has broken box-office records around the world. In 2017, Wicked surpassed The Phantom of the Opera as Broadway’s second-highest grossing musical, trailing only The Lion King.
Since then, the groundbreaking reinvention of L. Frank Baum’s century-old tale has redefined the modern musical theatre landscape. With more than $6 billion in global receipts, the stage musical of Wicked has been seen by 65 million people across 100+ cities in 16 countries.
Jon M. Chu Lands in Oz: Wicked The Film
For years, producer Marc Platt had been approached about adapting the stage musical for the screen. The timing had never seemed right, but when the stars aligned, Platt knew it was time to let Elphaba and Glinda soar. The film, Platt says, allows them to expand and explore the Wicked universe in a way that isn’t possible on stage.
To adapt the musical for film, Marc Platt turned to the trusted fellow creators with whom he had worked on the stage show: Musical comrades-in-arms Emmy and Tony nominee Winnie Holzman, writer of the book for the musical, and Grammy and Oscar-winning composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz. Little could producer Marc Platt know, but the filmmaker he would ultimately hire to direct the film of Wicked, Jon M. Chu, was a longtime superfan of the stage production. Decades earlier, Chu, the acclaimed visionary filmmaker of Crazy Rich Asians and the film adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s stage musical In The Heights, had attended early performances of Platt’s seminal show at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco before it transitioned to Broadway. “Jon has a skillset as a visual director,” Platt says. “But what I love the most is his heart and humanity. Wicked is a story of humanity, about people, and Wicked wears its heart on its sleeve; so does Jon. He was born to direct these films. With the brilliant creative vision of Jon, Stephen and Winnie, together, we have ventured to create a world that can only be realized on film.”
For Chu, the goal was to immerse audiences in the land Oz, and in these characters, in a way that had never been achieved before. “I want people who saw it on the stage to experience it in a way they never have,” Chu says.
