Why Wicked was split into two parts, according to movie’s director

Wicked finally arrives in cinemas this weekend – well, the first one, that is. The musical has been split into two movies, but fear not: the director has a good reason.

Wicked is arguably the most iconic stage musical of the 21st century, exploring the ill-fated and banger-filled story of Glinda the Good and Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch of the West.

Jon M. Chu’s big-budget adaptation has been a long time coming (it was originally scheduled for release in 2021), but after delays, strikes, and even controversies, it is literally days away.

However, I’m willing to bet there’s something a lot of viewers won’t know going in: it isn’t the full story. This is only Part One, and you’ll need to wait a whole year for Wicked: Part Two’s release date.

Wicked was “impossible” as one movie

Jon M. Chu explained that adapting Wicked as a single movie would have come with some “real damage”, believing that two parts allowed him to flesh out the story as it deserves.

“Here’s what happened: as we prepared this production over the last year, it became increasingly clear that it would be impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it,” the director wrote in a statement.

“As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years.

“So we decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one Wicked movie but two! With more space we can tell the story of Wicked as it was meant to be told while bringing even ore depth and surprise to the journeys of these beloved characters.”

Wicked Part 1 and 2 could be twice the length of the musical

Universal Pictures

Amid the hype, Wicked’s runtime has been met with apprehension. The first film is just over 160 minutes long – that’s nearly as long as the entire stage musical. If Part Two follows suit, it may be twice the length of the original production.

However, here’s something you may not have considered: the musical comes with an intermission after ‘Defying Gravity’, arguably the show’s emotional zenith. In the composer’s eyes (and ears), the story needs a break, so it had to be split into two parts.

“The truth is we tried for some time to make it one movie, even if it had to be one very long movie. But we kept running into two problems,” Stephen Schwartz explained in a fan newsletter.

Universal Pictures

“The first is that even as a very long single movie, it required us cutting or omitting things that we wanted to include and that we think fans of the show and the story will appreciate. Secondly, we found it very difficult to get past ‘Defying Gravity’ without a break.

“That song is written specifically to bring a curtain down, and whatever scene to follow it without a break just seemed hugely anti-climactic. 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.”

Wicked arrives in cinemas nationwide on Friday, November 22. Find out if Wicked is suitable for kids and check out other new movies coming out this month. If you’re planning a ‘Glicked’ double bill, read our Gladiator 2 review too.