Wicked is all about adaptations. The original story began as a novel, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum and published in 1900. The book was then adapted into the two-time Oscar-winning film in 1939, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland in her famous role as Dorothy. The Broadway musical, however, is based on the prequel novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire.

Maguire's rendition of the world of Oz is a political commentary written from the perspective of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West -- the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East, whom Dorothy would eventually reduce to a puddle -- who befriends Glinda, The Good Witch (Kristin Chenoweth). The hit Broadway production nabbed three prestigious Tony Awards for set design, costume design, and Best Actress (Idina Menzel), as well as a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

Needless to say, Broadway fans and critics alike have been anxiously awaiting the release of the Wicked musical film, directed by Jon M. Chu. In development since 2004 and initially anticipated for release in December 2021, the production has been delayed due to major staff changes, location changes, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Wicked was slated to be directed by Tony winner Stephen Daldry, but he left the project in 2020. Often regarded as one of the best Broadway shows of all time, the Wicked film adaptation has set very high standards for quality and execution. Fans expect a performance to rival that of the powerhouse duo Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth and their critically-acclaimed Broadway performance. Here is what we hope to see when the film is finally released.

A Performance to Rival Idina Menzel's

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YouTube - Ariana Grande

From the director who brought Crazy Rich Asians to the big screen, Wicked will feature Academy Awards nominee Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Grammy Award-winning singer and actress Ariana Grande as Glinda. The casting choice was announced to excited fans in November 2021. Each actor has established herself as talented, but will they measure up to Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth's ambitious precedent? Chu seems to think so, as both Erivo and Grande's auditions moved him to tears, offering promising foresight. Additionally, Chenoweth, who holds a Primetime Emmy for her supporting work in Pushing Daisies (2007), has expressed her approval of Grande's casting as Glinda.

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Menzel, who provides the spellbinding voice of Elsa in Disney's Academy Award-winning film Frozen, is well-known for her iconic Broadway role as Elphaba. Her performance is legendary within the theater community. She was on the circuit for 16 months and is strongly associated with Wicked due to her phenomenal portrayal. Her performance earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress, and fans still talk about that high note she hits so beautifully in her solo at the end of "Defying Gravity," which she performs with Chenoweth. Conceived by Grammy Award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz, "Defying Gravity" has raked in over 16 million views on YouTube. The song is also a featured performance on Ryan Murphy's hit drama, Glee. Thanks to the impressive groundwork laid by Menzel and Chenoweth, the stakes are considerably high for the Wicked film to achieve the success and merit of its original Broadway production. Erivo and Grande have big, shiny red shoes to fill.

The Spirit of the Original Broadway Production

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WikiMedia Commons

There have been a number of successful film adaptations of popular Broadway musicals. Chicago (2002) won six Oscars. The Sound of Music swept the Tony Awards, including Best Musical; the film adaptation, starring Julie Andrews, won five Oscars. Les Misérables scored two Tony Awards, and its 2012 film adaptation won three Academy Awards. The Broadway production of West Side Story won two Tony Awards, and the 2022 film was nominated for Best Picture. The list goes on; there is no shortage of great musical movies based on Broadway hits. For well over a decade, fans have been calling for a Wicked movie. We can only hope that with all the time the crew has spent on production and all the pressure from other success stories, Wicked will maintain its acclaim and blow people's minds.

The film, officially announced to the public in 2016, has only attached its leading actors so far as of last November. Although the role of Fiyero has not yet been cast, there was a fan-made petition created shortly after the first casting announcement that begs Universal Studios not to cast James Corden, who has been featured in other Broadway film adaptations such as Cats and Into the Woods. Fans are still eagerly anticipating the full cast list. At the SAG awards, Erivo shared that the film adaptation will differ only slightly from the original. She seems to believe that new additions will elevate the production without detracting from the original. Schwartz has also revealed that there will be new songs. Naturally, this warrants some hesitation, but he composed Broadway's GRAMMY-winning musical album, so fans rightly have high hopes for the new tunes.

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According to Erivo, she and Grande will begin rehearsals this July. Hopefully, this means that filming will swiftly follow. People are speculating that the film will finally be released to movie theaters sometime in 2023 or 2024. Because of how thoughtful and methodical the development process has been, it is evident that the showrunners are intent on delivering a carefully crafted, Oscar-worthy film to rival the success of the original Broadway production.