The up and coming Wicked movie is “defying gravity.” The screen adapted version of the Broadway hit musical Wicked, is taking the box office by storm. The director, Jon Chu, is famous for his films Crazy Rich Asians as well as In the Heights. It will be released in November of 2024.

Wicked is centered around the story of Elphaba and Glinda before Dorothy has arrived at Oz. This is the first half of the original Broadway musical. The movie follows Elphaba as she attends Shiz College and meets Glinda and starts the unlikely friendship between the two. This film is just one of a two part movie, the other half scheduled to be released next November in 2025. Originally the adaption was announced in 2012 with the producer being Marc Platt (who is known for his work on Legally Blonde and Into the Woods). The planning process was long and time consuming and ended up lasting until around 2019-2020. Covid-19 hit in March of 2020 and shut down the project. In 2021 the respective actors were casted, and Chu was hired as the director to kick off the filming process..

Emmy, Grammy, and Tony winning actress, Cynthia Erivo as well as pop star Ariana Grande are two of the many actors that the public are excited for. Senior Xavier Gaytan says that he is “excited to see Ariana Grande portray Galinda,” and that she is a great singer for the role.

One thing people have commented on is the fact that it’s only rated PG and is labeled as a “Kids & Family” movie. Though the original musical is also rated kids 7+, many parents and adults have said that there is some content many parents wouldn’t want their kids to see—including child marriages and misogyny.

In addition, some have questioned if there needs to be a remake at all. Allyson Toomey, a junior, explains that “remakes can be good, but many movies that are remade for kids can end up being cheap and cringy.” Many other fans share their unhappiness with the two part movie. Critics online describe it as watching the first half of the play and waiting another year to see how it ends.

Whether fans will end up enjoying the new songs or hate the split between parts, Wicked is one of the most anticipated movies for 2024. The public will continue to keep a close eye on Rotten Tomatoes to see if this movie is very “popular” or if no one will “mourn the wicked.”