From Stage to Screen: Wicked The Movie
One of the most anticipated movies of the year, Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu is coming out on November 22nd ,2024. This movie is based on one of the most famous Broadway musicals Wicked.
The history behind it all:
It began with the 1995 novel “Wicked: The life and times of the wicked witch of the west” by Gregory Maguire. The novel is a prequel to the world-famous book by L. Frank Baum and movie directed by Victor Fleming and King Vidor, The Wizard of Oz. The upcoming movie is starring singer Ariana Grande as Glinda as well as actor and singer Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba with several other famous faces playing the iconic roles from the land of Oz. The movie was announced in 2016 and was originally set to release in 2019 and ended up being pushed back to release in 2021.
The cast of the upcoming movie:
Along with the iconic Glinda and Elphaba there are lots of familiar faces in this movie including Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard of Oz, Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, Ethan Slater as Boq, Marissa Bode as Nessarose, Bowen Yang as Pfannee, Bronwyn James as ShenShen, Keala settle as miss coddle, Colin Michael Carmichael as Nikidik, Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond, and many others.
Behind the scenes of Wicked:
The original director of the movie, Stephen Daldry, backed down from the film in 2016 and the job was passed to the director of hit films Crazy Rich Asians and G.I. Joe: Retaliation Jon M. Chu. Winnie Holzman, who adapted the hit musical from Gregory Maguires bestselling novel is a contributor to the script alongside songwriter Stephen Schwartz who is also an executive producer along with Jared Leboff and David Nicksay. The production team includes Marc Platt and David Stone.
Hidden meanings in Elphaba:
Wicked is the story of how the two characters, Elphaba and Glinda, evolve and have a journey to become witches. Elphaba Thropps green skin is usually the first thing that viewers notice about her. However, there is a symbolic meaning behind this. The green skin is a representation of her being an outsider compared to the others in the movie. It represents her unique identity. Elphaba also has myopic vision (meaning she is nearsighted), representing she has trouble seeing the real meaning behind things. There is a constant struggle for her to see outside of the mirror and she has issues with understanding the whole picture.
Glinda the Good
Glinda, also known as the good witch of the south, is one of the two main characters. Glinda is the definition of good and kind. She has enhanced imaginations for decades with her glowing smile, pink gown, and large presence in the franchise. She shows the power that good holds over evil as well as symbolizing hope in dark times. Glinda’s pink bubble is her mode of transportation. She is known for gracefully floating through the skies. She has many powers and abilities such as to grant wishes and perform enchantments.
The competing movies
On the exact same week that Wicked is releasing, so is Moana 2, another highly anticipated movie. Moana came out in 2016, and it became a highly known Disney movie, leaving people waiting for the next one. This rivalry of the two possible movies of the year can be compared to “Barbenheimer” in 2023 with the Barbie movie and Oppenheimer being released and shown at the same time. Similarly, Wicked and Moana 2 can be compared to the argument of Barbie and Oppenheimer, leaving others to determine which one is better. Overall, this Thanksgiving weekend will be important to any Disney lovers as well as musical theatre kids.
By: Harper Kane
Sources:
https://deadline.com/feature/wicked-everything-we-know-1236041808
https://thedirect.com/entertainment/wicked-movie-2024-rating
Photo Credit: https://www.fanpop.com/clubs/ariana-grande/images/45528294/title/wicked-promotional-poster-photo
