Why Is ‘Wicked’ Being Split Into Two Movies if Part One Doesn’t End With “Defying Gravity”?

Something b-a-a-a-d is happening in Oz! Super Bowl Sunday saw the hotly anticipated debut of the first Wicked teaser trailer, which stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in the movie adaptation of one of the most popular Broadway musicals of the century.

The stage production, which was inspired by the 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire (a prequel to L. Frank Baum’s 1900 classic), made its Broadway debut in 2003, and has gone on to become the second highest grossing musical theater production in history, raking in over $1.5 billion in the United States alone.

Jon M. Chu, perhaps best known for In The Heights, signed on to direct Wicked for the big screen in 2021, and announced the following year that the movie would be split in two parts.

“With more space, we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys of these beloved characters,” Chu wrote in a statement.

The choice to make the movie a two-parter was controversial from the start, with people pointing out that the stage production clocks in at two hours and 45 minutes, which is on par with many recent movie releases, and that’s without cutting any scenes or songs and with the added benefit of movie editing and reshoots.

Composer and lyricist Stephan Schwartz added to the conversation, telling Variety that he wrote an original song for one of the two movies, and found that “very difficult” to move past the Act I closer “Defying Gravity” without taking a break, as one would do at the theater.

Thus, the release of the first look on Feb. 11, 2024 was met with confusion as it teased scenes that occur after the showstopping musical number, such as the introduction of the famed Wizard of Oz characters, Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, and the Tin Man.

Wicked, what gives?

It could be true that the teaser shows scenes from both movies, which would be a peculiar choice given that if someone shows up to the theater expecting a Dorothy cameo and leaves without it, they could be less motivated to see the sequel.

Writer Louis Peitzman, who has thoroughly covered pop culture and theater for years, expressed confusion over the artistic choice, writing on Twitter, “OK literally what is going to be in Part 2 of that movie like I’m stressed out.”

His followers responded with speculation that the teaser covers more than the first movie, and one wrote, “Maybe someone said this already but like didn’t it just say Wicked at the end? Like not Wicked: Part One?”

But there’s still a plot hole, given that NBCUniversial shared a press release after the teaser aired, referring to Wicked: Part One as solely Wicked — despite Part One initially being part of the title. The press release goes on to refer to the sequel as Wicked: Part Two. Even the Google landing page has adjusted to the first movie’s title, changing it from Wicked: Part One to Wicked, following the release of the teaser.

“Extremely sneaky but also very smart of the Wicked trailer to not mention it’s a Part 1 [of] Part 2 situation, and to include clips of Dorothy & co. to attract the attention of the people who may not be familiar with the story of Wicked,” wrote a fan on Twitter.

The same person went on to call Universal’s decision to split the movie in two “a bold choice.”

Another penned, “They’re working overtime to appeal Wicked to non theatre audiences because half that trailer is in Part 2.”

Confusing the Wicked fanbase, who should be the movie’s target audience — even though the 2024 Mean Girls movie would beg to differ — isn’t the best way to advertise a new movie, especially when the source material already holds such high acclaim and has spawned productions worldwide. Big Hollywood releases, such as Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning, have suffered in the box office seemingly due to their status as two-parters, and others like Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse have controversy for not clearly advertising their two-part storyline, and instead, hitting viewers with an abrupt cliffhanger ending.

Hopefully Wicked can break that trend, but for now, it’s a shame that the tease has evoked this conversation, rather than something about the movie’s all-star cast, $145 million budget, and the talented crew who built lavish sets to bring Oz to life.

“Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, stars Emmy, Grammy and Tony winning powerhouse Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Grammy-winning, multi-platinum recording artist and global superstar Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart,” reads the description.

“The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths.”

The movie features performances by Erivo, Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, and Keala Settle.

Wicked will release on November 27, 2024 in theaters, with Wicked Part Two set to arrive on November 26, 2025.